Painted Walls of Tacoma

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Harmon & Co.
<< street address >>
<<building elevation/wall>>7th & 8th floor

This is a great sign, or a great collection of signs, for many reasons. First, it's a palimpsest; there is one sign F.S. Harmon & Co. Wholesale Furniture with the other F.S. Harmon Mfg. Co. Furniture. (I am guessing the two initials are F.S.) Over the top of those two is the contemporary The Harmon -- lofts apparently. This newest one looks "photoshopped" on in the image; as I remember, though, the bright yellow paint makes it look photoshopped in real life too. So much depth for a 2D surface!

Adding to the coolness is the associated Serta Sleeper. Curiously, the Serta sign, a national brand, is much much smaller. Usually, a sign painter, working for a national brand, would paint that brand's sign. In exchange for the privilege of painting on the owner's building, the painter would also paint a sign for that owner's business. In the customer's mind, an association was made between the strong national brand and the local business. In most cases, though, I've usually found the national brand's signs to be much bigger than the local's privilege sign.

Photo courtesy of Lara7. Thanks Lara!!!

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