Boy Scout Building
Mooresville, NC
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

You see here too and old auto dealership, now used for a Boy Scout troop. Again I saw no indication as to what kind of cars were sold here, but aside from it looking like an old dealership, the building details of a spoked wheel certainly give it away. Maybe Franklin cars were sold there? Many thanks to Richard Weiss for info. 05-08

The old Boy Scout Building in downtown Mooresville has had quite a history over the years. Long before Scouts met inside, it was home to the Birdsall-Smith Automobile Company, where new Franklin automobiles were sold during the early days of motoring. Today, the building's biggest attraction isn't inside at all. It's the huge painted Franklin Auto advertisement that still stretches across the side wall.

The restored ghost sign is one of downtown Mooresville's most recognizable landmarks. Rather than letting the faded lettering disappear, the building's owners carefully brought it back to life, preserving a reminder of the days when hand-painted advertisements guided motorists instead of neon signs and billboards.

Boy Scout Building
Mooresville, NC
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

UPDATE: The building now serves as a meeting place for a local Boy Scout troop, giving the old dealership a new purpose while preserving one of North Carolina's finest automotive ghost signs. It's a nice example of how a historic building can move into a new chapter without forgetting where it came from. 08-26

Buster Miles Chevrolet - Oldsmobile (Gone)
Heflin, AL
Photo courtesy Paul Bauke

The towering signs at Buster Miles Chevrolet–Oldsmobile gave downtown Heflin an unmistakable automotive identity. The Chevrolet display rose above the property, announcing the dealership well before motorists reached the entrance. It was the sort of landmark you could recognize without ever having purchased a car there. 04-09

Charles “Buster” Miles, a World War II veteran, founded the dealership on Main Street in 1952. The business served generations of Cleburne County motorists before expanding beyond its original downtown setting. As vehicle sales required more room, a larger facility near the interstate offered space better suited to the growing operation.

Oldsmobile
Heflin, AL
Photo courtesy Paul Bauke

The vertical Oldsmobile sign supplied a second distinctive advertisement beside the Chevrolet display. Rather than combining every franchise beneath one standardized panel, the signs gave each make its own presence. Together, they recorded the years when the dealership represented both brands and made the original location especially recognizable from the road.

UPDATE: The downtown dealership and its Chevrolet and Oldsmobile signs have disappeared. Buster Miles continues under family ownership at its newer location, where modern branding has replaced the older displays. The business survives, while photographs preserve the signs that once helped define its Main Street home. 08-26