Boston Signage Project by Keith Sliney

Capturing 100 photos of interesting and unique signs in the Boston area. The project was featured in the Boston Herald in August 2011. sliney.com

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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

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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)

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The Berwick Cake Company went out of business in 1977, but made a significant contribution to the world back in in the 1920s. According to food historians, Berwick was selling a product with 2 mound-shaped pieces of chocolate cake with a sweet filling sandwiched between them. They were not selling well. As a marketing stunt, the company had the actors of the Broadway show "Makin' Whoopee," then playing in Boston, toss the cakes into the audience at curtain call. They were an immediate hit, and the Whoopie Pie was born.

BOSTON SIGNAGE PROJECT (98 of #100bostonsigns) 

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The Atlas Lofts is a thriving 53-unit apartment building in a redeveloped area of Chelsea. In the early 1900s it was the location of a cardboard box factory that served much of New England. The developers wisely retained the century-old signage.

BOSTON SIGNAGE PROJECT (97 of #100bostonsigns)

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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)

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On Congress Street in the Fort Point area of the Seaport District stands this vintage brick building. Currently it is home to Lucky's Lounge, a hidden speak-easy club known for its retro feel and Sinatra-style live music. On the back of the building visible from Summer Street is this vertical ghost sign, most of which is illegible except for "Metal Stamping and Plating."

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On the corner of Blackstone and Hanover Streets stands this beautiful old building which still displays several ghost signs on all sides. Bostonia Cigars was founded by Frank X. Oberle, who immigrated from Germany in the late 1800s.

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Here on the on Southern Artery in Quincy is the very first Dunkin’ Donuts. Back when it opened in 1950, coffee was sold for a dime and a script sign of the original logo was displayed over the door. In subsequent years the store went through several renovations, lost its uniqueness, and looked like all the other DD's out there. But in 2011, the shop went back to its roots and did a retro-renovation and replicated the original sign.

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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.

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McDonald’s on Gallivan Boulevard in Dorchester still has the rare giant “M” sign that extends to the ground in front of the restaurant. Apparently it is one of only two @McDonalds left in the state to have this double-arch style (the other is in North Hampton, MA).

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For decades Arthur Sparr owned and operated this drug store/medical supply shop/luncheonette around the corner from Boston's famous hospitals in the Longwood medical area. It was one of the few places on earth where you could shop for a stethoscope while waiting for your turkey club. He closed the business in 2002 and the building was eventually sold to Harvard Medical School. Luckily this high-quality ghost sign remains.

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This old brick building in Cambridge now houses a dentist and tanning salon, but still reveals a sign of yesteryear as a reminder where you could go to get top-notch french bread pizza and scali rolls.

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On the corner of Central Ave and Shurtleff Street in Chelsea is this set of bizarre double ghost signs. Each square has 2 ads from different time periods overlaying each other. On the left is "You'll go for Y-KOF cough syrup" combined with "Visit our Fountain". On the right is "Sold Drug Counters" covering an old Coca-Cola ad.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.