In an earlier post I discussed the secret ghost signs of San Francisco - those quirks of geography or post earthquake development that are best viewed using Google Earth or similar satellite mapping software. It turns out that much like the ghost sign map in general, my understanding of San Francisco’s secret ghost signs is also evolving because I’ve recently found more of them. Not only did I find a potential Omar Cigarettes sign on 825 Bush, but I’ve found some equally interesting secret signs on 555 Eddy.
But before I get into the secret signs on this building, let’s go over the history of the building and what you can see from the street level.
Background on 555 Eddy
555 Eddy, originally constructed as the Eagle Apartments but later known as the Palisade Apartments, is a four story, 30 unit masonry apartment building built in 1910. Noted for its classic features and design, it’s one of the contributing buildings in the Uptown Tenderloin Historic District.
From these ads in the San Francisco Call circa 1911-1912 you can get a feel for the place and its residents in the early teens. Private bathrooms definitely would have put this head and shoulders above many of the hotel/apartment buildings in this area of San Francisco. Proximity to the nightlife and shopping on Market Street would have also made this a desirable location; as evidenced by the reference to the Emporium in the first ad, which was both a shopping destination and an upscale employer.
A personal aside, both my mother and grandmother worked at the Oakland store in the 1960’s!
Visible Signs on 555 Eddy
As shot from across Eddy street. Immediately visible is the Eagle Apartments sign which is both highly deteriorated and perhaps not the most adeptly painted sign to begin with. Sign painting is indeed an art, and not all artists are blessed with the same skill level or experience. But what can we see below that, along the roofline of the adjacent garage? It’s that classic spencerian C and L from the Cola in Coca Cola. Iconic does not begin to describe this font and logo, so identifying these signs tends to be fairly straightforward.
But if you don’t believe me, here’s a shot taken from Google Earth of the entirety of the sign on 555 Eddy. While not the highest resolution picture, you can see more of the logo including the C in Coca, making this a more definitive ID.
So how old are these signs? The Coca Cola sign is definitely older than the adjacent building or it would be more visible from the street level. That adjacent building is a two story garage completed in either 1920 or 1924 (there are conflicting documents). That would date the Coca Cola sign, as well as the secret signs on the back of 555 Eddy, to between 1910-1920 or 1910-1924.
So what are those secret signs?
Secret Signs on 555 Eddy
When viewed on Google Earth, the whole length of the building becomes visible, revealing multiple signs on the back half which are obscured from street level view by the adjacent garage. Let’s break those signs down one by one. But first, let’s zoom in close on just the back half so we can get more detail.
Secret Sign #1 - Coca Cola
And what do we see if we look in close at the roofline? It’s those familiar spencerian loops to the C’s and L in the Coca Cola logo. They’re faint, but follow my logic and then feel free to poke holes in it in the comments. :)
IF from the street we can determine there’s a Coca Cola sign on the front of 855 Eddy
And IF we can compare both signs using Google Earth
And IF they both look the same
And IF they’re both in the same location/position
It stands to reason that they’re both Coca Cola signs, right?
And while rare, I’ve definitely seen double Coca Cola ghost signs before--such as this example--lending further credence to this theory (at least IMHO). And since Coca Cola was founded in the 1890’s, it is more than old enough to have been painted on this building between 1910 and 1924.
Secret Sign #2 - Tree Tea
The dominant sign on the back wall is definitely the story-tall letters TREE. While this is definitely a partial sign - with the rest either residing below the adjacent roofline or faded to obscurity on the front wall - with a little sleuthing this can be straightforwardly identified as a Tree Tea ghost sign.
While there are no other remaining painted Tree Tea signs in San Francisco, there are a plethora of Tree Tea window signs such as this one on Geary, this one on O’Farrell, and this one on 24th Street. They usually appear in close proximity to MJB Coffee signs and for good reason - this is the tea line (or at least one of them) that MJB Coffee once distributed. While the FULL story of MJB Coffee is definitely best left for a different post, and the historical record on Tree Tea is scant, the tl;dr is that MJB Coffee was founded in San Francisco in 1881 and aside from coffee, they had a minor side business in importing spices and teas.
There are a few references to Tree Tea in San Francisco’s photographic record, both of which solidify the line between this brand and MJB Coffee.
Here you can see Tree Tea advertised on an early MJB warehouse sign, location/date unknown but undoubtedly in pre-earthquake San Francisco. And here you can see an MJB Coffee and Tree Tea sign on 665 3rd circa 1918. Thank you OpenSFHistory!
OpenSFHistory / wnp71.0188.jpg
And since MJB Coffee was founded in the 1880’s, and Tree Tea was a sub brand in the pre-earthquake era, it is more than old enough to have been painted on this building between 1910 and 1924.
Secret Sign #3 - Unknown
In the middle of the back wall is undecipherable short text, two words perhaps, in dark paint. It is likely the remnant of a sign that was either partially obscured by later signs or that deteriorated unevenly. If I had to guess, and this is VERY much a hunch based on the shape of the letters and words, I would say that it reads Union Made. If anyone has alternate theories or definitely knows what it says I would LOVE to hear more!
Do you or anyone you know have access to a building with a view of this side of 555 Eddy? Or do you have historic photos of this block pre-1920? If so, I’d love to talk and get your help definitively IDing and photographing these secret signs!