Signs and Wonders
April 9, 2005
"Signs" as in street signs or store signs; "Wonders" as in one wonders what the person who wrote that or painted that was thinking, or if the person was thinking at all.
I took these photos while walking around downtown Grand Rapids the other day.
Comments (5)
Yeah, I know what you mean. It's really neat to see this kind of thing when I manage to get outside for lunch. I think that wall was helped a bit by its northern exposure—less direct sunlight and all that.
Apr 10, 2005 ; 11:04 AM
It's amazing to me that you found all that just on a walk-about downtown. Maybe we can head out on a bike ride with kids in the trailer sometime and see it all? I bet Ben & Maria would have a few choice comments.
Apr 10, 2005 ; 10:34 PM
Great entry...near and dear to my heart. My Dad and both my Grandfathers were signmakers...it was the "family business" for many years. In fact, my Grandpa Van Houten was one of the signmakers involved with creating the original "Weather Ball" in downtown Grand Rapids...100 percent neon.
Anyway, seeing these photos makes me wish I would have collected some of the old signs that were on the junk heap some years ago when we finally closed up shop. I'm sure there was some good stuff in there.
Apr 12, 2005 ; 9:28 AM
Steve, the bike ride sounds like a great idea. Let's do it.
Michael, there's always a tension—isn't there?—between keeping old stuff and throwing it away, balancing the need to preserve memories and the desire to simplify our lives.
Apr 14, 2005 ; 6:19 PM
The wall of signs revealed by the removal of the adjacent building makes me think of what it must be like to open a time capsule.
Apr 10, 2005 ; 10:08 AM