Hidden down alleyways, on street corners or on the bricks above the cityscape, Cincinnati's fading advertisements hide in plain sight. These ghost signs still tout their wares and services, remnants of a bygone era. Each sign has a vivid story behind it unique to its era, product and craftsmanship. "Wall dogs" like sign artist Gus Holthaus left their marks on the city. A sign for the Beehive, the club and restaurant at the top of the arena, reminds residents of Cincinnati's pro hockey team, the Stingers. Not many can remember "the Other Place," but a hand-painted advertisement still adorns a city wall. Join author and photographer Ronny Salerno for a tour of Cincinnati's vanishing signs and their intriguing history.

Part of Belt's Neighborhood Guidebook Series, The Cincinnati Neighborhood Guidebook is an in-depth look at the City of Seven Hills, written by the people who live and work there every day. Cincinnati, Ohio, is a complex mi

New York City is eternally evolving. From its iconic skyline to its side alleys, the new is perpetually being built on the debris of the past. But a movement to preserve the citys vanishing landscapes has emerged. For nearly twenty years, Frank Jump has been documenting the fading ads that are visible, but less often seen, all over New York. Disappearing from the sides of buildings or hidden by new construction, these signs are remnants of lost eras of New Yorks life. They weave together the citys unique history, culture, environment and society and tell the stories of the businesses, places and people whose lives transpired among them the story of New York itself. This photo-documentary is also a study of time and space, of mortality and living, as Jumps campaign to capture the ads mirrors his own struggle with HIV. Experience the ads shot with vintage Kodachrome film and the meaning they carry through acclaimed photographer and urban documentarian Frank Jumps lens.

Philadelphia's faded ads are history in plain sight. They are tangible remnants of changing neighborhoods and industries, and Fading Ads of Philadelphia presents a new way to view these forgotten urban stories. Join author and photographer Lawrence O'Toole as he explores these physical touchstones of the city's history--a sign for a bygone family business seen only from the elevated train tracks, the Gretz smokestack advertising the now defunct Kensington brewery and an ad for the Midtown Theater that is slowly reappearing from behind layers of whitewash. O'Toole re-creates this lost urban landscape as he hunts signs from Center City to the River Wards and from South Philadelphia to West Philadelphia. Through this stunningly illustrated book, urbanites will again view these too often overlooked ads--and their stories--with fresh eyes.

"Across the city, fading advertisements and ghost signs tell the story of Milwaukee as it was in years gone by ... Join Milwaukee native and ghost sign hunter Adam Levin as he explores the national brands and local shops of the Cream City's past"--Back cover.

The fading advertisements on the walls of Birmingham's buildings paint an illuminating picture of the men and women who built an industrial boomtown in the first half of the twentieth century. Advertising expert, artist and writer Charles Buchanan unravels the mysteries behind Birmingham's ghost signs to reveal glimpses of the past now hidden in plain sight. Featuring stunning color photography by Birmingham native Jonathan Purvis.

Before the billboard, radio or television commercial, there was the painted ad. Today, these aging ads capture the imagination, harkening back to a bygone era. Vanishing paint on brick walls speaks to a time when commerce was much simpler and much more direct. Few cities in America have produced as many intriguing fading ads as St. Louis. Fewer still are home to such an expert on the subject as author Wm. Stage. For decades, Stage has studied and researched the lost art form of the painted ad, carefully tracking the history of this hands-on approach to advertising from its lustrous heyday to its disappearing present. Join Stage on a tour through St. Louis's fading ads hidden in plain sight.