One of the City’s Great Ghost Signs Has Been Defaced

This doesn’t double our pleasure. Not one bit. What was once an ad for Wrigley’s Spearmint gum has been tagged, depriving the East Village of one of its great ghost signs. Frank Mastropolo wrote about the wall in 2015:

This large sign on the Lafayette Street side of 20 Bond Street has survived for decades despite the flurry of development around it. The sign, nestled around a second-floor window, invites you to have your crankcase flushed by what was probably the auto mechanic shop below. A close look above that reveals a faded ad for Wrigley’s Spearmint gum that probably dates from the 1940s.

Here’s what it looks like today:

You can have a look at more of our favorite ghost signs here, here, here, and here.