Old, Obsolete, and Faded Ads

All photos by Adam Paul

The use of product logos on retail fronts can be seen across the area, ranging from Alcoholic beverages to soft drinks to cigarettes. While many of these ads are of the temporary type, such as posters, decals, and the like, others are more significant, such as hang signs which carry soda logos directly on them along with the name of the establishment.
The use of this type of advertising is nothing new, as inspection of many of these signs will reveal logos of products no longer available, as well as other logos that have long since been "modernized." Still yet, there are other ads carrying timeless logos, in forms no longer used, such as the trademark "Coke Caps" that are all too often spotted painted over. Following is a glimpse at the surviving variety of older product logos seen about the area:

Among the logos ads once spotted everywhere, but becoming quite scarce are the familiar Coke Caps which dotted diners, carry-outs, pharmacies, and liquor stores in the region. Two survive on a carry-out at Druid Hill Avenue at Lafayette.	Don't want your coke from the fountain, well these caps at Pulaski Street and Fairmount Avenue beckon to purchase your coke in Bottles.
This is how the Coke Caps are supposed to look! A prime pair of caps sits on this since closed store in Highlandtown. They have miraculously retained the overwhelming majority of their gloss finish.
The caps at the Highlandtown location belie their age of nearly 50 years, showing a nearly immaculate finish!	A little less sparking is the bottle artwork in the middle of the storefront. Regardless, the artwork is still lovely!
While not as charismatic as the Cap Style Coke Logos, Bar Style coke logos can be found in some spots through town as well, such as here at the old Manor Food Store on Main Street in Turners Station.
Hiding among the side streets of Brooklyn Park near the South City Border are a couple of establishments proudly displaying coke caps in decent condition.	Another of the Brooklyn stores with Coke Caps adorning it.
Still another version of vintage Coca-Cola signage lies at Wicomico and Scott Streets in Southwest Baltimore, where this beauty is displayed!	Not to be outdone is Coke's competitor, Pepsi, who offered a fluorescent backlit display for its vendors. This sign at Reisterstown Road and Belvedere Avenue has remained remarkably colorfast for facing the south side for years.
An old metal Pepsi ad can be seen on the side of this cut-rate at the corner of Preston and Aisquith Streets.	Now that's flamboyant. This 7-Up sign recalls the vivid and colorful flavor of the early 70's. It can be admired at the corner of Wolfe and Gough Streets near Fells Point. Thanks to Dan Gibbs for the lead.
Let us not forget the other major cola in the area. You may have drank an RC recently, but its highly doubtful that it carried the swirly logo it did from the late 1960's to the mid 1980's. This partially concealed ad is off of Woodington Road in Edmondson Village	Not to be counted out were the lemon-lime sodas either, as this Sprite hang sign for the Boulevard Carry-Out at Washington Boulevard and Cross Street shows. A few others of these, such as one at Lombard and Carrollton can be spotted since converted over, but retaining the signature red and green "sparklies" in the center section of the sign.
A similar Sprite sign is at the corner of Hillen and Forrest Streets near Old Town Mall. One side of it carries the old sparkly logo...	While the other carries the "newer" rounded letter logo.
Of course, product logos are not simply limited to soft drinks, as Grove's Delicatessen at Hilton Street and Phelps Lane advertising "DELVALE ICE CREAM" proves. This style of front was once common across the city, but has since grown rare.	Scattered around town in varying degrees of condition are a number of Blue Ribbon Bread Signs, such as this worn specimen at Ashton and Smallwood Streets.

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