#bostonsigns

[100bostonsigns]

The grand finale of the Boston Sign Project is the landmark Schrafft’s sign which is mounted atop the company’s former factory in Charlestown’s Sullivan Square. Schrafft’s was a candy, chocolate and cake company founded in 1861, and had stores and restaurants along the east coast up until the business was shut down in 1981. The old factory was converted into commercial office space, and in 2016 the famous neon sign was reconstructed exactly as it was with a high-efficiency, energy reducing lighting system. The sign remains an icon, and at night the pink neon glow can be seen for miles in all directions. 

BOSTON SIGNAGE PROJECT (100 of #100bostonsigns) 

🎉 All 💯 signs can be seen on my portfolio site: sliney.com/signs

[ofmyskin]

"There are more old drunks than there are old doctors." #aintitthetruth #downtowncrossing #bostonsigns (at Downtown Crossing)

[100bostonsigns]

In 2015, when Converse relocated its headquarters from the suburbs to a century-old restored property in Boston’s Lovejoy Wharf, they wanted to make a statement with their signage. Installed on the roof of the 9-story building is one of the most impressive signs in the city. Extending 10-feet tall and spanning 80-feet wide, the letters were designed to match the building’s rust brick facade and copper patina trimmings. 

BOSTON SIGNAGE PROJECT (99 of #100bostonsigns)

[100bostonsigns]

Adjacent to the Cambridge Common in historic Harvard Square, the Commander has been a landmark  since it was opened in 1927. The hotel pays homage to George Washington, who took command of the Continental Army in here in 1775. Back in the sixties it became one of the first franchised Sheraton hotels. The signature red neon sign still towers overhead outside, one of the few remaining roof-mounted signs in the city.

BOSTON SIGNAGE PROJECT (96 of #100bostonsigns)

[100bostonsigns]

This spot on Congress Avenue in Chelsea was a longstanding home to the popular El Dorado Bakery until it was destroyed by fire in late 2013. The brick wall of the adjacent building was exposed once the charred remains were removed, revealing an amazing Pillsbury painted ghost sign which had been unseen for decades.

[100bostonsigns]

This great neon sign and old-school clock sit atop a two-piece dining car known as Kelly's Diner in Somerville.

[100bostonsigns]

There's no shortage of Coke ghost signs in the city and this one resides on the side of a brownstone on the corner of Rutland Square and Columbus Ave in the South End. Strangely enough it's paired up with another aging painted sign on the same wall – a vintage logo of longtime rival Pepsi.

[100bostonsigns]

Before the original Boston Garden was demolished and replaced by the current @TDGarden 1995, this sign graced the exterior on the Causeway Street side. It was preserved and now resides inside the building behind the bar in the Legends Club.

[100bostonsigns]

Villa Francesca is another one of those great Italian restaurants in in the North End and has one of the largest painted signs in the city. This well-hidden 4-story-tall beauty is tucked into the left side of the building and is blocked from view if you are walking from Hanover Street. 

[100bostonsigns]

Along Cummins Highway in the heart of Mattapan, this Model Cleansers ghost sign is easy to miss because it faces an alley. 

[100bostonsigns]

Suspension Specialists was was originally established by George Arcand in 1908, and was primarily a blacksmith shop fixing suspensions on horse carriages. They are still around servicing vehicles of all sizes, and sporting a classic red sign with a great sharp-angled typeface.

[100bostonsigns]

Around the corner from MIT in Cambridge is Metropolitan Storage's massive brick century-old warehouse. It's the largest self storage facility in New England, housing 260,000 square feet of storage space including 1,500 individually locked rooms.

[100bostonsigns]

This multi-layered retro sign is the face for this mini golf joint in Saugus, but it usually plays second fiddle another tall structure on the property – a 12-foot high orange dinosaur that looms over Route 1.

[100bostonsigns]

Painted during a time when doctors apparently treated diseases with alcohol, this impressive ghost sign on Friend Street reads "The Old Marlowe Wine Co. / Medicinally Pure / Liquors / Bald Eagle Whiskey"

[100bostonsigns]

Boston is not known for stellar hotdog stands, but Simco's in Mattapan is one of the few. They've been around since the Great Depression, and their retro-cool neon signage looks like it's been there since the beginning.

[100bostonsigns]

The iconic blue trim and flatiron design of Ferdinand's furniture store still dominates the area of Dudley Square, even though the building has been vacant for over three decades.