Long ago, advertising signs were often painted directly on the exterior walls of
commercial buildings. When these old buildings are modernized, the signs are buried
under new siding. Recently, three “ghost signs” have come to light with the BAM
Collective renovation project on the north side of Glisan Street between NE 71st and NE
72 nd Avenues.
On the east wall, the “SHEET METAL WORKS” sign has reappeared. The word above
is still partially obscured. We can make out “OODMAN” and a tiny fragment of an
upward-slanting letter that remains covered by unremoved material. It could be a W or
X, or Y, but “W” seems most likely. Did someone named Woodman once occupy this
building?
If so, he was not the first occupant. The 7124 NE Glisan building was constructed in
1912 for John J. Shreiner’s bakery business. He operated this until his death in 1929.
From that time, the building was unoccupied—except for renters in the second-floor
apartment—until Frank T. Woodman moved his sheet metal business here in 1932 or
1933.
Frank Thomas Woodman (1892-1965) worked as a metalworker from at least age 17.
He was listed as a “tinner” in the 1910 U.S. census for Portland.
Before occupying the Montavilla building, he had his own sheet metal shop at Glisan
and 52nd. Why did he decide to relocate his business to Montavilla? It was the
Depression era; perhaps rent was cheaper there. Perhaps the Montavilla location was
more convenient?
Another possible—if not certain—reason might have been a desire to leave his North
Tabor neighborhood, even if this was only twenty blocks away. The Oregon Journal of
February 15, 1932 reported some embarrassing events that took place in Woodman’s
52nd Avenue building. Late at night, a violent fight in the rental apartment above the
sheet metal shop was reported, and police came to investigate. The fight was over, but
one man was so severely injured that the police sent him to the hospital. Another man was
arrested for drunkenness. Neither of these men was Frank. But the police decided to
search Woodman’s shop and found there a copper still which was under construction.
They also found liquor. Woodman was also arrested for possession of alcohol.
(Prohibition restrictions did not end until December 5, 1933.)
and tin shop at 1415 East Glisan (now the vacant area on the east side of Providence Hospital)
By 1932 or 1933, Woodman’s sheet metal business was relocated to the 7123 NE Glisan
building. It is unclear how long he remained there, but by 1934 the Portland city
directory shows the property was once again vacant. By 1940, Woodman was a partner
in the East Side Metal Works at 1734 E. Burnside.
More ghost signs were exposed with the remodeling process on the west side of 7123
NE Glisan building. These are harder to see clearly because the newer building next
door casts them in shadow. These signs were created for later and different businesses.
Near the front of the west wall, if you look carefully, you can see “Drink,”
“MISSIO/ORANG,” and “MAKES THIRS.”
The original, unobscured sign would have read “A Mission Orange drink makes thirst a
pleasure.” This was a slogan used by the Mission Dry Corporation’s in its 1935-1936
advertising campaign for its non-carbonated orange juice soft drink.
The big Mission Orange sign advertised a product available in the 7123 NE Glisan
building. A grocery store seems most likely. But I could not confirm this nor could I
identify the tenant. Whatever the business, it was no longer there by 1937-1938, when
the building again lay vacant.
The final ghost sign appears to the left of the orange drink sign. This one advertises
bicycle sales and service.
We can connect this sign with Ralph’s Bike Shop, which opened at this address in 1950.
The owner was Kansas native Ralph Leroy Mock (1900-1980). Ads in Portland
newspapers and Portland city directory listings indicate that the bike business was in
operation from 1949 to 1953.
In the remaining years, the building was occupied by a variety of businesses, but they
did not add their own signs to the west or east walls of this building—at least none that
survived. The time for signs painted on commercial building walls had passed.
Be sure to see these ghost signs soon. They could vanish once again with the new
construction project.
By
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Update: Woodman family member Heather Springer provided a pictured from their collection of the metal working shop. The date and location are not noted but it is captioned with “Frank Woodman, Shop” and shows two people working a sheet metal brake press.
This is part of Montavilla History Questions Answered, a series of history related articles. If you have questions about Montavilla’s past that you’d like answered, local historian Patricia Sanders will investigate your question. Please email your questions to history@montavilla.net and we may feature it alongside Patricia Sanders’ research in a future.