Durham's Vintage Sign Art
Durham art transcends museum walls, with vintage signs and outdoor murals painted throughout the community. Durham's vintage signage and reproductions of vintage signage are a component of Durham's unique sense of place as a genuine, textured, and authentic destination.
Examples of Durham's vintage sign art include restored, hand-painted signs for Wrigley's Gum, Chiclets, and Pepsi-Cola on the side of the building at 107 East Parrish Street, Bull Durham Tobacco and Coca-Cola on West Main Street, and the Montgomery and Aldridge Warehouse Tire sign on Foster Street. In addition, vintage neon blade signs are visible at the Carolina Theatre, Home Insurance Building, Liberty Warehouse, Public Hardware, and The Book Exchange.
Surveys show that travelers drawn to Durham are looking for things genuine, textured, and authentic--and what is more genuine, textured, and authentic than Durham's hand-painted, early-1900 sign art?
Careful recognition and restoration of valuable signatures of Durham's history and architecture are crucial to the community's future growth and development as a visitor destination. The developers of The Streets at Southpoint took this into account when designing the one-million-square-foot super-regional mall. They incorporated recognizable aspects of Durham's distinct architectural image, like vintage advertisement signage and brick architectural detailing, into the state-of-the-art indoor/outdoor shopping mall.
For the locations of these and other vintage sign artworks in Durham, click here for the Durham Visual & Performing Arts Guide.
Last updated 7/11/05
