Article by and images courtesy of Matt Cohen, marketer, ad-history enthusiast, and board member of the Advertising Association of Winnipeg.
Edited by Laura McKay, on behalf of Heritage Winnipeg Corp.
To follow up on this or any other articles on the blog, contact Heritage Winnipeg's Executive Director.
To follow up on this or any other articles on the blog, contact Heritage Winnipeg's Executive Director.
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Portage and Main 1921. |
Ghost signs are pieces of hand-painted,
outdoor promotional art preserved on the sides of buildings. They were prevalent
from the 1890s through to the 1960s, but as outdoor advertising mediums
evolved, painted signs became a less popular way of promoting products and
services. Over the years, they’ve been replaced by billboards, vinyl banners
and store-front signage.
Generation after generation though, the original
signs remain. This is due to the paint and the substrate. Much like sponges, bricks
are extremely porous. When they come into contact with a liquid, they quickly
absorb it. That liquid, in this case, was lead- and oil-based paint. This meant the
signs would remain for decades without having to reapply more coats.
When the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute
opened in the former Royal Bank Building, Red River College tried to remove a
small section of paint in the top right-hand corner without much success.
But let’s get started at the beginning. Why
are they here?
When Manitoba joined the Confederation in
1870, there were 12,000 citizens who called the newly formed province home. By
1911, that number had swelled to 450,000 and Winnipeg, its capital, became the
third largest city in the country. As the population grew, so did the need for
goods and services. Industrialists from across North America swarmed to the
burgeoning city to set up shop. The largest built towering buildings in the
Warehouse District to sell their wares.
This is when the East side of the Exchange
was formed. In 1890, a line connecting the Northern Pacific and Manitoba
railways was constructed at, what is now, The Forks. The line followed Waterfront
drive to the Canadian Pacific Railway on Higgins Avenue.
In 1895, two spur lines were successfully
negotiated off of the main transfer railway. One, between Bannatyne and Market,
and the other between Market and James. These tracks were able to pull up behind
the backs of giant warehouses, who would store goods for shipment across
Western Canada.
If you walk along John Hirsch Place and Elgin Avenue, you can still see the loading dock numbers on the backs of the buildings.
James Ashdown started construction of his
warehouse as soon as the last rail tie was laid. Know as Winnipeg’s merchant
prince, Ashdown built his hardware business from scratch from his store on the
corner of Bannatyne and Main. The warehouse would allow him to expand his
business and connect his building supplies with rail stops throughout the West.
In what was one of advertisings first
promotional stunts, in 1900, Ashdown painted 40 cars with “Hardware from J.H.
Ashdown” on their sides. The line travelled across the prairies and Ashdown
bragged to the media his was the only company in Canada where the railway
pulled up to his back door.
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J.H. Ashdown Hardware Company Limited. |
On the West side of Main, smaller-scale
businesses took shape. Unlike the storage warehouses on the East, the west
focused on wholesale goods – both bulk and retail.
This sign is from clothing retailer White
and Mannahan. They opened their Main Street store in 1898 and operated out of
the location until the building was sold and demolished in 1921. Even though
it’s over a century old, the red colour still comes through.
As the Warehouse District expanded, so did
the advertising techniques used in reaching out to the public. Businesses moved
away from simply writing their name on a wall to creating brands around them.
By the 1930s, a company could even be
expressed with a logo. When Canadian General Electric built 265 Notre Dame in
1930 they featured theirs on the back of the building.
The original ghost sign below
is from the H.J. Heinz Company. It was painted in the 1920s and features the classic
“57 Varieties” slogan. Over top is a Pepsi logo from the late 70s. The second
Pepsi sign was actually painted a decade later and made to look like a 1940s bottle.
Some national advertisers went as far as to
commission local sign painters to illustrate full product shots on the sides of
buildings.
Essex Packers was founded in Hamilton,
Ontario in 1925. At the time of painting in the 1950s, the company was the
third largest canned ham manufacturer in North America.
This sign was painted at the same time as
Essex Packers. Paint and chemical supply firm Robinson and Webber was founded
in 1919. They represent brands like Goldex and Glashine and still exist today
under the name RW Packaging.
Finally, The Scott-Bathgate Company. They
were founded in 1903 as confectionary wholesaler. With the introduction of the
Nutty Club brand name and its Can-D-Man mascot in the 1930s, the company grew
to be one of Canada’s largest popcorn, salted nuts and packaged candy distributors.
While they still own three buildings on the east of Main Street, the signs aren’t
original. They’ve been repainted several times over from their original design.
So walk the streets and look up. There are
a lot to choose from. Over 125 ghost signs line the rooftops of the Exchange. A
century after they first went up and each one still has a story they’re trying
to sell.
About the Author
Matt Cohen is a marketer and ad-history
enthusiast. He’s also on the board of the Advertising Association of Winnipeg
(adwinnipeg). In the fall of 2015, they’ll be launching ghostsigns.ca, a
digital archive of ghost signs in the Exchange. Follow or visit to learn more.
Web: adwinnipeg.ca Social: @adwinnipeg
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