ONLINE: Ghost Signs of Madison, Wisconsin

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Bob Koch

A ghost sign visible on Atwood Avenue.

The ad for the old Fess Hotel that was uncovered when the city demolished the parking ramp at Pinckney and Doty Streets is a great example of a ghost sign. These old signs were painted directly onto the sides of buildings, often for businesses now long gone. This presentation from the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation should be good fun as Maureen Janson Heintz highlights Madison's 40-some ghost signs. Tickets here; sales close at 5 p.m. on Nov. 10. Also, note you must watch in real time; the Zoom presentation will not be available for later viewing.

press release: Madison Trust for Historic Preservation's four-part virtual Architectural Series is back! Tickets for each part will go on sale the month before the event. $5 | Madison Trust Members; $10 | General Public.

Many faded advertising signs that still haunt the sides of old buildings predate billboards and signs of today. Often referred to as ghost signs (not to be confused with the paranormal), most of these were hand-painted directly on building exteriors, a common practice between the late 1800s and the 1930s. From fancy graphics and images to simple announcements of a company name, some have been restored and repainted to look like the original. Many have been left to deteriorate with time and weather. Truly ghostly are those on which the paint has completely disappeared from the building surface leaving only cleaner brick where the images or words once were.

Madison is home to nearly 40 ghost signs. Some of them are easily spotted, while others take some effort to find. These signs vary in legibility, some have been repainted with great clarity and some loom like true ghosts, nearly faded from sight. Let's take a look at some of these Madison area gems and explore a bit of their history.

Tickets close at 5pm on Nov. 10

A former dancer and accomplished photographer and writer, Maureen Janson Heintz specializes in photography for theatre and dance, actor headshots, portraits and fine art photography. She writes as a freelancer with a strong arts focus.

She was recently an artist-in-residence at the Glen Arbor Arts Center in Northern Michigan where her photography was also featured in the recent You Are T/Here show. Her work has been a part of the Forward Art Prize show, Forge at Madison Brass Works, and After the End of the World at Overture Center for the Arts, among others. She was awarded an honorable mention in the Wisconsin National Historic Preservation Act 50th Anniversary show and is the resident photographer for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Dance Department.

As a writer, her work has been published in The Capital Times, Dance Magazine, Dance Studio Life Magazine, See Chicago Dance among other publications. Along with Anna Paskevska, Maureen is the co-author of the revised edition of Getting Started in Ballet. Her collection of theatre monologues entitled Beautiful View received performances in Madison and Spring Green in 2019. Following her passion for ghost signs led Maureen to author the book Ghost Signs of Madison, Wisconsin.