Ghost Sign: Pepsi-Cola – Richmond, Virginia
In the fall of October 2018, I rode through the city of Richmond, Virginia on a Sunday morning. City riding isn’t so great, generally. But being on a motorcycle gives you the opportunity to pull over, squeeze into tight spots for a few minutes and to park and snap pictures in a way that you couldn’t possibly do in a car. Being on a low, slim bike like the Bonneville makes that even easier.
I was in town spotting ghosts. An old city like Richmond, has plenty.
This Pepsi-Cola ad is just hanging on for dear life. Topped off with “Watkins Barber Shop” the bottle cap is but a whisper. A quick search around the web and you can find images of this wall that were much more vibrant. Hang in there, lovely. We still see you.
![richmond fuzzygalore pepsi ghost sign](https://i0.wp.com/photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-5X6d3C9/1/9f0cbb3f/XL/i-5X6d3C9-XL.jpg?w=800&ssl=1)
Without any knowledge of the company’s history, I have no idea if they ever engaged in widespread campaigns like Coca-Cola. In my travels, I haven’t had the opportunity to see many Pepsi ghost signs. Off the top of my head, I can only think of one other. It was in Galena, Kansas:
![fuzzygalore galena ansas pepsi ghost sign](https://i0.wp.com/photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-7dVNHCk/0/95fea609/XL/i-7dVNHCk-XL.jpg?w=768&ssl=1)
Now that my antenna is up, maybe I’ll start seeing them.
[edit] How could I possibly forget the gorgeous Pepsi ad on the old post office in Burke’s Garden?![](https://i0.wp.com/photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-dLS2b3t/0/74066d54/XL/i-dLS2b3t-XL.jpg?w=768&ssl=1)
Nice post and photo.
Lovely. The older I get, the more sentimental I feel about old things. They embody the life of earlier times, life that affects the present like ripples in a pond. The closer you look, the more connectedness you see between then and now.
I just saw an informative documentary on the struggle between Ford and Ferrari in the 1960’s in car-racing. The film explains what led up to that, what happened, and its aftermath, consequences of which still affect us today. Previously I knew only small bits of the story (e.g., recognizing Nikki Lauda from having seen the 2013 film, “Rush”); this new information expands my grasp of that history. And now I see that Matt Damon and Christian Bale are starring in a new movie, out in November, called “Ford v Ferrari” which tells the same story. From having seen the documentary, I know the key people (e.g., Phil Remington, the greatest car-mechanic who ever lived; Carroll Shelby, whose career is well-known) who’ll be portrayed in the film. The old affects the present.