The Ghost Signs of Flatbush
One of the things that’s gotten me so addicted to learning about the history of our neighborhood is how the things I walk past have deeper meaning when I know the stories that happened there. What I love about ghost signage is that you don’t have to know anything about history or architecture to see the story they’re telling.
Ghost signs are signs for businesses that no longer exist, and/or fading signs painted on the side of a building years ago, usually as advertising.
Due to its almost near-constant state of flux over the past century, commercial realtors being unsure about the area, and Flatbush landlords not giving a f*ck if they have a ton of old signage on their buildings, Flatbush has a huge amount of ghost signage. I’m not familiar enough with the outer boroughs to make any claims like “the most ghost signage in all of New York!!!” But it’s certainly more than you see in other neighborhoods — sometimes layers upon layers, decades upon decades, like a ghost sign archeological dig.
The signs shown here span 80 years. How many of them have you spotted?
(all photos taken in 2019–2020 by me)
.
This “Lindsay for Mayor” sign on Flatbush & Bedford Aves immediately dates itself — the last time Lindsay ran for mayor was in 1969.
Botanicas like this one on Flatbush Ave & Chester Ct. are starting to go out of business due to gentrification.
Two ghost signs for the price of one (both FURS ON VICK and MIlitary Fashions) Flatbush Ave near Linden Blvd.
Iconic Oldsmobile sign on Flatbush Ave & Ave D
Lincoln Savings Bank, shown here on this ghost sign on Church Ave near Bedford, was bought out in 1995. They had a giant & beautiful bank on 5th Ave & Bay Ridge Pkwy in Bay Ridge.
Independence Bank maintained its independence a decade longer than Lincoln. It was bought out by Santander Bank in 2006. This old sign is painted on a building near the subway tracks on Newkirk Ave.
This ghost sign for a florist hangs near Bar Chord on Cortelyou Rd.
Greenfield Pharmacy ghost sign through the window of the Cortelyou Rd train station. Greenfield actually still exists, a few stores away.
This 1940s municipal photo shows the edge of the above ghost sign when it was new: look just below the word “Chemist.”
The Kings Theatre’s ghost sign is probably the most-photographed in the nabe.
A view of the now-ghost sign on the Loew’s Theatre back when it was freshly painted.
More Flatbush Things That Are Now Gone…
A magical skatepond on the Lefferts Farm, the Steenbakkery was a pivotal part of village social life for more than 100 years, especially during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.