My phone's bursting with pics of flaking paint ads. Cultural save or silly hobby?

I got into taking photos of every old sign on buildings I pass. A few call it preserving our town's story, while several say it's just snapping trash. Do you think all ghost signs need recording, or let most fade?

3 comments

3 Comments

grantb9212d ago

Remember reading how historians use faded signs to map a city's changing economy. Those layers of paint tell stories official records skip, like which diner was the spot in the 50s. Documenting them saves a tangible past (way more meaningful than just clutter) before it's gone forever.

holly_williams2912d ago

Disagree with the idea that every faded sign is a treasure. Most are just old ads for businesses that failed or were kinda crappy. That diner from the 50s might have had bad food and worse service, but we paint it as some golden era. Official records show the real story, like health inspections or crime rates. Spending money to document peeling paint feels like a waste when we could focus on preserving actual important sites, lol.

seanc629d ago

Totally agree with @grantb92, that peeling paint is real history right there!