Serta Perfect Sleeper
Flagstaff, AZ Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
The faded Serta Perfect Sleeper advertisement once brightened this brick wall in Flagstaff. Serta introduced the Perfect Sleeper line in 1931, and the hand-painted sign continued selling a good night’s rest long after the paint began wearing away. 01-06
The name of the furniture or mattress store that originally commissioned the advertisement has been lost, leaving the old wall to tell what remains of the story.
UPDATE: The current condition of the Serta ghost sign could not be confirmed. It may survive in faded form or have been covered during later building renovations. 09-26
W.H. Switzer Hardware
Flagstaff, AZ Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
The faded W.H. Switzer Hardware sign can still be seen on this old Flagstaff building. Earlier RoadsidePeek notes mistakenly called it H.H. Switzer, but the store belonged to William Howard “Billy” Switzer. 01-06
Older sporting-goods lettering shows through beneath the hardware sign, leaving two generations of advertising on the same brick wall. Switzer also sold saddles, camping gear, tools, and supplies to local ranchers and timber workers.
UPDATE: The hardware store is long gone, but the building has been repurposed and its layered ghost sign survives. 09-26
The Madre Drug Co.
Flagstaff, AZ Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
The faded Madre Drug Co. wall sign has been advertising Mission ice cream and frozen bars since 1938. Painted across the old brick building in downtown Flagstaff, it recalls the days when the neighborhood drugstore was also a good place to stop for something cold. 01-06
Mission Ice Cream was once sold through drugstores and soda fountains across the Southwest. The large advertisement remained on the wall long after Madre Drug closed, slowly fading into the brickwork as downtown Flagstaff changed around it.
Mission Ice Cream Sign
Flagstaff, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The sign survived a more recent scare after it was damaged by graffiti. Local artist Emma Gardner carefully repaired the historic advertisement, repainting the damaged sections one brick at a time.
UPDATE: Here's another shot of the Mission Ice Cream ghost sign. 05-20
UPDATE: The building now houses Mountain Sports, while the restored Madre Drug Co. and Mission Ice Cream sign remains visible outside. 09-26
W.A. Julian Co.
Tucson, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70
The faded W.A. Julian Co. lettering remains on Tucson’s historic Julian-Drew Building. William Armine Julian arrived in Tucson in 1894 and built a business dealing in plumbing, electrical work, mining supplies, and heavy hardware. 07-07
Julian partnered with W.E. Drew to construct this building in 1917. Along with the W.A. Julian offices, it housed an automobile showroom on the ground floor and the Hotel Lewis upstairs. Both business names can still be traced across the old brick walls.
Irish artist Fin DAC painted the towering Vergiss mural here in 2016, working around the windows and leaving the historic lettering visible beside his artwork.
UPDATE: The Julian-Drew Building survives as the Julian Drew Lofts with residential and retail space. The W.A. Julian Co. ghost sign remains on the exterior wall. 09-26
McAlister Sign Service
Phoenix, AZ Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan
Not too long ago in Phoenix, they took down an old building from possibly the 1940's which was right up against another building that (I'm only guessing) is from the 30's or 40's. It revealed a painted sign underneath for an old cafe and McAlister Sign Service. The sign and letter style looks like it says 30's, maybe 40's which is a guess. McAlister signed it right under the "E" in cafe. Many thanks to Elgin MacMillanfor info. 07-08
McAlister Sign Service
Phoenix, AZ Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan
Demolition sometimes uncovers a little roadside history. When an old Phoenix building came down, it exposed this faded Cafe ghost sign on the wall next door. Judging by the lettering, the advertisement may date from the 1930s or 1940s, although its exact age and the name of the cafe remain a mystery. 07-08
Look closely beneath the final “E” in Cafe and there is another surprise. The painter signed the work “McAlister Sign Service,” much like an artist placing a signature at the bottom of a canvas. It is a small reminder that these old advertisements were once painted by hand, one letter at a time.
McAlister Sign Service
Phoenix, AZ Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan
The neighboring building probably protected the sign from decades of Arizona sun and weather. Once that wall came down, the old cafe lettering suddenly returned to daylight after being hidden away for who knows how many years.
UPDATE: The exact Phoenix location and present condition of the McAlister Sign Service ghost sign could not be confirmed. It may have faded, been covered again, or disappeared during later redevelopment. 09-26
Serta Perfect Sleeper
W.H. Switzer Hardware
The Madre Drug Co.
Mission Ice Cream Sign
W.A. Julian Co.
McAlister Sign Service
McAlister Sign Service
McAlister Sign Service
