Great minds think alike; but so do great sign painters and great advertising campaigns.

A fairly well preserved Wrigley’s Spearmint sign on the side of 1255 Polk. Under the billboard you can see the faintest outline of an even older ghost sign. Perhaps it’s related to this sign on the back of the building? www.flickr.com/photos/kaseysmith/6287506027

A riot of faded color at 924 Geary. Two ghost signs are visible here: the lower one the ghostly geometric lines of a Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum ad, the other a barely decipherable sign for the Hotel Erle. Less well preserved than it’s twin on Polk Street, this Wrigley’s ad is nevertheless a great find for the eagle-eyed. Given the skeletal nature of the gum sign – it’s really little more than an outline – I’m wondering if the sign was even completed. If not, why? Did building construction and blocked lines of sight halt the job? Did that specific campaign push end? Did something happen with the building, the painters, the city billboard laws, etc?

A view of the building’s backside can be seen here: www.flickr.com/photos/kaseysmith/6172754525

Interesting historical note – the hotel was once a brothel: hchapot.blogspot.com/2011/11/blog-post.html