While the historic Antioch downtown area is known for its quaint hodgepodge of restaurants and specialty stores, the village’s ongoing restoration program of “ghost signs” has become its own attraction.
Initiated last year, a new self-guided tour map gives visitors a peek at how local businesses advertised themselves in the early 1900s.
“Ghost signs” refer to faded advertising displays for products, services or stores that were painted onto the sides of buildings and houses before billboards. They have eroded away with the passage of time, leaving only traces of the artwork visible. Think “Mail Pouch Tobacco” signs that one sees painted on barns, while traveling down regional back roads.
“This project has been so well received and it’s a hit,” said Jim Moran, the village’s communications specialist. “We are currently in the process of putting our fiscal year budget together for Antioch, and I’m fairly certain that appropriations will be included for one or two more signs to be restored.”
The effort was originally funded by $40,000 in last year’s budget, and the actual ending cost was well under the allocated amount, Moran said. The village also partnered with the Lakes Region Historical Society in its search for authenticity — “and doing it correctly” — before the painters took over.
“Every sign has some challenges, and you want to remain true to the original … so it doesn’t look forced,” said Kyran McCabe, of Chicago’s Right Way Signs. “The hardest part of these murals is achieving a level of distress that’s aesthetically correct, and legible. This project gave us the opportunity to be part of Antioch’s Main Street.”
– Original Credit: News-Sun
The two-block Main Street downtown is bounded by Lake and Depot streets, with the chosen signs being Gambles Hardware and Appliances, Reeves Drug Store The Williams Brothers Department Store, and Scott’s Dairy. Anchored by the former police station, now Village Hall, the area has carried a legacy of commerce for more than a century.
“We gathered a lot of images from old postcards and photographs, although the Gambles sign was a given, as it’s still visible,” said Ainsley Wonderling, the historical society’s director. “Reeve’s Drugs was a must, and taken from the large hanging sign that was over its front door. The Williams Brothers sign was made from what can be seen in an old photo.
“The Scott’s Dairy sign was taken from one of their milk bottles. The historical society has also provided old photographs and the history of each of the businesses, which will be connected by the QR scan codes on each building,” she said. “It gives the years of the business, the owners’ names, information. It brings everything back to life, in a way.”
– Original Credit: News-Sun
Additionally, the village created a self-guided map with addresses and stories about the signs that can be accessed on its website, www.enjoyantioch.com/ghosted. A ribbon-cutting ceremony in October helped reinforce the nostalgic feel of an old downtown.
“There’s definitely a bit of nostalgia … in seeing the sign of a pharmacy or department store you used to go to with a grandparent, and brings up memories of how simpler things were in our memories,” McCabe said. “They spark stories of how things used to be, which ultimately is how stories are passed down. It’s really just another form of storytelling.”
