Bull Durham
Grants Pass, OR Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Sometimes the best roadside discoveries are hiding in plain sight. The faded Bull Durham lettering on this old brick wall in Grants Pass has been weathering away for generations, and it's still easy to spot from across the open lot. Photo date: 03-06
Look a little closer and you'll notice another advertisement painted over the top. As the years passed, the newer paint faded unevenly, allowing the older Bull Durham sign to slowly reappear. It's a neat reminder that these old walls often have more than one story to tell.
Whether you call it a ghost sign or simply an old painted advertisement, it's one of those details that makes wandering through downtown worthwhile. You never know what you might find by looking up.
UPDATE: The building remains in use, and the Bull Durham ghost sign is still visible on the side wall. 07-26
Pure Sunlight (Gone)
Medford, OR Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
That old Pure Sunlight Coca-Cola sign is the kind of thing that makes you stop and take a second look. Hanging outside an otherwise ordinary storefront in Medford, it advertises more than just a soft drink. It recalls a time when colorful painted signs were part of almost every downtown street. Photo date: 03-06
"Pure as Sunlight" was one of Coca-Cola's advertising slogans during the 1930s, and signs like this were supplied to neighborhood stores, cafés, and drugstores across the country. Many disappeared decades ago, making survivors like this an increasingly uncommon sight.
I never did learn much about the business behind the sign. Honestly, the sign was enough. Sometimes it's the little roadside details that end up being the most memorable.
UPDATE: The Coca-Cola "Pure as Sunlight" sign has been removed. 07-26
Pinnacle Pack (Demolished)
Medford, OR Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Weathered paint always seems to have a story to tell, and the faded Pinnacle Pack signs in Medford certainly caught my attention. Time has taken its toll on the lettering, but enough remains to remind you that this was once a busy fruit packing operation. Photo date: 03-06
The Pinnacle Packing Company shipped Rogue Valley pears and apples to markets across the country. Its warehouses stood alongside the railroad, where boxcars waited to carry the harvest far beyond Southern Oregon. It's easy to picture this part of town filled with workers, trucks, and stacks of wooden fruit crates during harvest season.
Pinnacle Pack - Albers Feeds
Medford, OR Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
I like signs like these because they were never meant to become attractions. They were simply painted on the side of a working warehouse, expected to advertise the business for a few years before being covered up or painted over. Instead, decades of sun, rain, and neglect slowly transformed them into accidental works of art.
The old warehouse district was one of my favorite parts of Medford to explore. Nearly every block seemed to have another fading sign, an old loading dock, or a reminder of the days when fruit packing was one of the city's biggest industries. The Pinnacle Pack lettering wasn't the brightest or the easiest to read, but it had exactly the kind of character that makes wandering around with a camera so rewarding.
Pinnacle Pack
Medford, OR Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
You never know how much longer ghost signs like these will survive. Sometimes all it takes is a fresh coat of paint or a redevelopment project for another piece of roadside history to disappear.
UPDATE: The old Pinnacle Packing buildings have since been demolished, and the faded painted signs are no longer there. 07-26
Coke Sign
Medford, OR Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Old Coca-Cola ghost signs always seem to catch my eye, and this faded Coke Sign in Medford was no exception. Even after years of sun and weather, the familiar script is still easy to recognize. Photo date: 03-06
Painted Coca-Cola advertisements once covered brick walls in towns all across America. Most have long since disappeared beneath fresh paint or new buildings, making the survivors that much more enjoyable to find.
This one isn't perfect, but that's part of its charm. The faded paint and weathered brick tell their own story, and they're the kind of roadside details that reward anyone willing to slow down and look around.
UPDATE: The current status of this ghost sign is unknown. 07-26
Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco
Sutherlin, OR Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
One of the first things you'll notice on this old brick building is the faded Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco ghost sign. Look closely and you'll also spot the famous Bull Durham bull, still standing watch after all these years. Photo date: 11-20
Although this sign has often been associated with nearby Sutherlin, it actually calls historic Oakland home. The painted advertisement has survived for generations, helped by the open lot beside the building that has kept it in full view.
Ghost signs like this are always fun to find because they're pieces of everyday advertising that somehow escaped the passage of time. This one is among the best survivors in Oregon and is well worth a look if you're wandering through Oakland's historic downtown.
UPDATE: The Bull Durham ghost sign continues to survive on the side of the building. 07-26
Bull Durham
Pure Sunlight (Gone)
Pinnacle Pack (Demolished)
Pinnacle Pack - Albers Feeds
Pinnacle Pack
Coke Sign
Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco
