Dupler Brothers Fur Building, Denver Colorado

Downtown Denver used to have several furriers and fur warehouses. This was one of them.

Evanston Wyoming

Downtown Evanston, Wyoming, with many old painted signs in evidence.

Ayres Jewelry

This building is painted with the name of Ayres jewelry. It is perhaps an unusual example, in that Ayres, a very long lasting Casper business, is still in business and is still located at this location, although it has also expanded into a neighboring building. Ayres also has an old fashion sidewalk clock out in front of the building, although it is not visible in the photographs.

In some ways, this photo demonstrates how a well run business is timeless. The business has been in business, in this location, for decades.

H-C Ranchwear

The signs on this building are particularly difficult to read, as the building is so close to a much newer building housing a movie theater. The sign for "H-C Ranchwear" is visible, along with part of a business name indicating that the store was a "Supply". I have it in mind that this store was a hardware, ranch supply store, but do not know for certain. It has not housed such a store for many years.

Gustavsen's Garage

This building was built in 1921 and has served a variety of businesses over the years. The signs that remain show the various uses. On the east side of the school is a sign for Great Northern Tool and Supply which apparently had an entrance from the side or the back of the building. The west side of the building advertises a business that stored for sold furs.

In addition to these businesses, for many years this building has been used as an automotive repair facility. This started many years ago, perhaps as long ago as the 1920s or 1930s. It was operated as Gustavsen's Garage for a long period of time, and up until very recently, the painted Gustavsen's sign was clearly visible of the front of the building. The building, which is being renovated to include an automobile museum, in addition to an automotive repair has recently been sandblasted, and the Gustavsen's sign is now gone.

Also of note here, Wyatt's Garage, which was a classically styled gas station. Today it is a tire store, but it was build as a full service gasoline station at this location, which was on the Yellowstone Highway. Another classically styled building across the street was a Lincoln-Mercury dealer for many years, prior to the dealership moving across town. The combination of these buildings gives a good glimpse at what the West Yellowstone Highway District looked like in its heyday, prior to being bypassed by more modern highways.

Lou Taubert Ranch Outfitters

These photographs are of Lou Taubert's Ranch Outfitters, a long time Casper business. The buisiness sells clothing, and as the signs demonstrate, also sells tack and related items. In other words it is, as the sign indicates, a ranch outfitter.

The signs painted on the building are quite large and have been on it for decades. Unfortunately,they are not easy to photograph, given neighboring buildings and street lights. The paintings exist on three of the buildings four sides, including the back of the building, as the bottom photograph demonstrates.

This business is a going concern, and is fully up and running in its long time business. The signs on the side of the building appear quite fresh in comparison to the others depicted here, as they are still occasionally repainted. It has been in this location for decades, but the "1919" referred to does not refer to this store, but the original store in Ft. Laramie, Wyoming.

The Townsend Building (A. J. Woods)

This is a sign advertising the Woods For Men clothing store, on the side of the Townsend Building (not to be confused with the Townsend Hotel). I don't know the vintage of this sign, located on what is now a bookstore on the 100 block of South Center Street. I don't recall Woods ever being in this location, although it was once located nearly directly across the street. Apparently when it was in this location, the business was called "A. J. Woods". The Townsend Building itself was built in 1905, bricked over some time after that, and then later concreted over, as we now see it.

This sign was painted on the brick in a stylish manner, prior to the building being concreted over. The concrete has chipped off within the past few years, exposing the old painting.