San Francisco Ghost Sign Mapping Project

The San Francisco Ghost Sign Mapping Project is a social practice and historical research project dedicated to mapping the San Francisco Bay Area via the lens of its historic handpainted advertising signs.

Started in 2011 by artist Kasey Smith, the project revolves around a map that includes the location, history, and status of these “ghost signs.” To date, 450+ of San Francisco and the East Bay’s ghost signs have been added to the map.

As of September 2020 we’re also mapping the ghost signs of the East Bay, with a focus on Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda.

The heyday of the Bay Area’s handpainted signage was from the 1906 earthquake to the mid-1950’s when the cost of large format printing caught up with the cost of sign painting. While some companies and businesses continue to paint their signs, it’s generally for aesthetic and nostalgic reasons. Their function is purely anachronistic and decorative, where once it was driven by economic necessity.

This older style of handpainted sign is a fixed point in the historio-geography of the region and the San Francisco Ghost Sign map is a living document updated as the constellation of those points changes. After all, we aren’t creating any more of them; we’re simply shuffling around the skyline to reveal and obscure them. By studying these points, by immersing ourselves in their locations and histories, we can use them as a way to better understand the development trends at play upon the region at large.

Once you start to see these ghost signs, you can never unsee them. A glimpse down an alley here, a glimpse high on a wall there. They become part of how you understand urban space and how you parse your travels through it.

Welcome to the journey! It’s a fun one.