Ghost Sign 2

You can hardly read it, but the sign says Belk-Hudson. This is on the side of the Mellow Mushroom building downtown, originally the Maxwell Brothers Grocery. We have a Belk in town now, but apparently many years ago, there was a Belk-Hudson. Belk is the department store that bought out Parisian a few years ago.

Ghost Sign

Here's an old ghost sign on the back of the Drake Printers (click to see their cool neon sign)building downtown. "Parsons-Persons Motors" Sadly, I couldn't get the entire sign in the frame as it is mostly in an alley and blocked by a newer building. This is also the same building with this ghost sign on the other side.

Ghost Sign

Another ghost sign in downtown Northport. Also, note the blue shirt in the right hand side of the picture. He's an employee of the City of Northport who waters all the planters every morning.

If you click to enlarge, you can see the string of little yellow bulbs above the awning out front. They've been there for many years to add a special glow at night.

Ghost Signs

Ghost signs, backstreet of downtown Northport.


Not sure what a graphone is, but you could buy one here at Alabama Furniture Co.

Northport 5 & 10

Gotta love a five and dime store still in business, thumbin' their noses at Walmart.

I'm guessing this is the same Jim (James) Shirley whose house I featured a few days ago.
According to the historic marker at his house, he was the town surveyor and built the first commercial brick buildings in the 1850s.

Anders Hardware

Anders Hardware is a classic old time hardware store in downtown Northport. This is the backstreet entrance, which actually looks like the main entrance! Anders is celebrating its 100th year this year. They also have another store in Tuscaloosa. They seem to be thriving in spite of the Lowe's and Home Depot invasion. They must have a really loyal customer base.

Here's the Main Street entrance.

This is the warehouse behind the store. Glad someone with a paint sprayer skipped over the sign.

Pollard Cleaners

Pollard Cleaners has been around a long time too. The main store is here at the corner of 15th and Queen City Avenue, but they have several locations all over Tuscaloosa and Northport. They have a drive through window and also a delivery service. They even have a dropoff/pickup location in a convenience store! Now THAT's customer service. I love the neon sign. Note to self: must get a pic when it is LIT.

University Cleaners

I love this old sign on Hackberry Lane. You can see where the neon tubing used to be. University Cleaners has been around a long time. They're near the University of Alabama and have a loyal student and alumni customer base. Here's the side entrance.

Alex City

On a recent road trip, we had a chance to see the historic downtown section of Alexander City, Alabama - or as it's commonly referred to, Alex City. I liked these old signs that are well preserved on top of the store. Alex City's claims to fame are Lake Martin and Russell Athletic apparel.

Drake Printers

With all the destruction "urban renewal" going on downtown, vintage signs like this are becoming visible on the older buildings that were not deemed blighted. Drake Printers has been around a LONG time. I'm assuming this brick signage is older than the neon. It's also in a different location. Can anyone tell what kind of cola sign that is in the top right hand corner?

Moon Winx

This great old sign in Alberta City (part of Tuscaloosa) is on Hwy 11, the Old Birmingham Hwy, which becomes University Blvd. That road was the main drag into town before the I-59 was finished, and had several hotels and restaurants. The Moon Winx is a landmark in Tuscaloosa because in its heyday, it was one of the nicest. Now, it is mostly boarded up. The restaurant is closed and the pool is filled in. I think they may use some of the rooms as efficiency apartments. At least they kept the old sign. It was cool at night when it was lit, the eye winked.

Ballard's Flour Sign

This old sign is painted on the wall of the License Commission building downtown. It is in an alley now, but I'm sure was originally facing the street. I'd never seen it before and I've never heard of Ballard's Obelisk Flour. Has anyone ever heard of it? According to the sign, it was "Always Reliable" and "Standard of the South for 50 Years." It's hard to get a good shot in a narrow alley, so here's a couple more. My apologies for the afternoon shadow from the other building.