Ghost Signs Proposal

[Kelly Thorson]

I'm in the process of discussing a proposal for the documentation of the Ghost Signs of Moose Jaw. The city is rich with old ghost images particularily in an four block area that may be completely cleared for the erection of a new sports complex shortly. The idea is to photograph all the ghost signs, research what history and old pictures are available and put together both a digital and printed record of the signs for tourism and historical purposes.
Has anyone here been involved in such a project or know of someone who was? Any ideas as to presentation or links to similar projects? Other suggestions or tips?

[Patrick Mackle]

Screw the sports center and preserve the ghost signs!

"Beware paradise, put up a parking lot!!" Joni Mitchell

I would like to devise a coating to paint onto ghost signs that would allow transfering the weathered brick and paint surface to another
surface and then dissolve away the water based coated surface. They would look good on my shop walls.

[Mike Jackson]

I can't help you much with your question, but I will go ahead and insert a link to some photographs I took while in Odgen, UT;

http://www.theletterheads.com/lhparts/ogdenutah.html

Mike

[Roderick Treece]

Kelley,
I'm not sure if you know but I have a web site dedicated to "Ghost Signs".Years ago we did alot of documentation for Knott's Berry Farm before they tore down GhostTown and rebuilt it.Once it was rebuilt we aged it from new to Ghost and then added the signs.
Sounds like a great project.I would get ahold of the local historic society and try to work with them.When you get it all finish I would be happy to put it on the site.

www.ghosttownsigns.com

I say" Screw the sports center and preserve the ghost signs" as well! Whats a town called Moose Jaw with out ghost sign,Nothin!

Roderick

[Kelly Thorson]

Funny thing you should mention that quote Pat.....
"They paved paradise And put up a parking lot" - Big Yellow Taxi from Joni Mitchell's 1970 album - "Ladies of the Canyon"
Joni is a Saskatchewan girl raised just a couple of hours north of Moose Jaw in Saskatoon. Maybe I should enlist her as an advocate. In any case that was one of the music tracks I had in mind for the digital presentation.

I'm with you guys, Downtown Moose Jaw is a historic gem complete with underground tunnels that used to house persecuted chinese immigrants and rum runners. Even the notorious Al Capone is said to have appropriated the tunnels for a few years. It seems like every time they demolish a building new passages are discovered. Why they would want to erect a concrete (or sheet metal) monstosity amidst all this charm baffles me. There is a big battle being waged as to where this will be built. Once the decision is made they won't waste any time if it is downtown, as they will want to put an end to any chances of the preservationists finding a way to stay the process.

One of the things I'd like to do is find old pictures of the murals in their prime and include them in a digital presentation where the images fade from the original to the color version. This may mean figuring out how to photograph the image from the exact same angle in order to have the one morph into the other. Copying the old image onto acetate and using it to determine the position the picture was shot from was my first idea on this......I'm betting there is a better, easier way...Mike?

[Patrick Mackle]

I've seen my graphics guy grab any photo of a sign taken on an angle, or out of an old book and reconstrain it to appear as if it was taken dead on center, even if it was higher up on a building. Incredible to watch him do it. You can take any angled sign photo and use his method to reproduce it to scale.
Maybe someone here knows this Photoshop tool and can explain the proceedure.

[Mike Jackson]

Photos taken at an odd angle causing distorted lines can be corrected in Photoshop with the Perspective Crop tool. Actually, I did an article on tool in SignCraft a year or so ago. It is easy to do and really makes the skewed images appear as though you had the perfect position when you shot it.

If you have Photoshop, do a help search for Perspective Crop.

Mike

[Kelly Thorson]

Thanks, I knew there was an easier way.