Fading Ads of Philadelphia

A city's faded ads are history in plain sight. They are tangible ways to tell the histories of changing neighborhoods and industries, and Lawrence O'Toole's "Fading Ads of Philadelphia" presents a new way to view these forgotten urban stories. Join O'Toole as he explores physical remnants of the city's history--the fading sign for a cooperage seen only from the elevated train tracks is all that remains of a family business and the Gretz smokestack in Kensington hints at the impact of Prohibition on the city's breweries. From Center City to the River Wards, and from South Philadelphia to West Philadelphia, O'Toole recreates this lost urban landscape. Through this stunningly illustrated book, urbanites will again view these too often overlooked ads--and their stories--with fresh eyes.