Ghost signs are the faded remains of painted advertisements often found on the fronts and sides of brick buildings from the late 19th to early 20th Centuries. If you look closely, you’ll likely see traces of images and text, offering clues of a bygone era. The paint used was a toxic mix of boiled oil, turpentine, dryers, and an enormous amount of lead. This concoction proved to be quite durable but made painters considerably sick from repeated exposure. Painted billboards faded in popularity by the 1950s in favour of cheaper, safer, and more effective forms of advertising.
Ingram and Bell
256 McCaul Street
On the west side of McCaul, just south of College, the round logo of two overlapping Ingram and Bell ghost signs is visible. The company sold medical and surgical supplies to University of Toronto students, including dissecting outfits and full-sized skeleton models. They operated out of the building from 1912 to 1962 and later merged with another medical supplier.
A.R. Williams Machinery Company
80 Lynn Williams Street
In Liberty Village, the faded “A.R. Williams Machinery Company” ghost sign can still be seen on a building that incorporates part of the former Central Prison’s woodworking and ironworking shop. After purchasing the property from the decommissioned men’s prison, company founder A.R. Williams hired prominent theatre architects Kaplan and Sprachman to design a new warehouse on the site. Williams remained president of the company until his death at age 79 in May 1917.
Loew’s Theatre
156 Victoria Street
High above the intersection of Victoria and Queen Streets is the resurrected Loew’s Theatre ghost sign. Likely painted in the late 1930s, the advertisement had faded almost entirely after decades of neglect. In 2022, historical restoration expert Lori Lemare and her team were commissioned to restore the sign, ensuring its visibility for years to come. Using a traditional pounce method — a technique that involves perforating paper with a steel “pounce” wheel and transferring the design to the wall with fine powder — the team carefully traced and repainted the original lettering, bringing the historic sign back to life.
Ideal Aluminum Products Limited
2471 Dundas Street West
A few blocks north of Bloor on Dundas are ghost signs for Ideal Aluminum Products Limited, which manufactured cooking utensils made from real, heavy, pure aluminum. The products were described as popular due to their price and as the most economical choice for Canadians. The building dates back to 1922, and there are two visible signs on the north and south facades. By 1935, these signs, except for the circular one on the north facade, were already fading. While the exact date of the company’s closing isn’t clear, many sources state it was a victim of the Great Depression. Today, the building is the Dundas West Arts Building.
M. Wintrob & Sons Ltd.
260 Spadina Avenue
On the west side of Spadina, just south of Dundas, we have the ghostly remains of a sign with the words “Welgrooms combs, hair curlers, Sun-Rite sunglasses, and houseware, Wave-Set.” These were products manufactured by Moses Wintrob & Sons, a plastics company that operated from 1945 to 1970, employing 400 people, and producing 3.5 million pairs of sunglasses annually. In 1964, however, the company secretary was caught embezzling $33,000 (about $300,000 in today’s dollars), resulting in a three-year prison sentence.
