17 Feb 2024
Evolution of a Wall at Oneida Market, Hudson, New York
In Hudson, New York, the recent evolution of a wall demonstrates the effects of property development on ghost signs, in this case a lovely one advertising Oneida Market.

When I first saw these photos by Gabriel Nieto I immediately assumed that the sign had been covered by a billboard, and then the window added in after its removal. It’s still entirely possible that there was once a billboard there, but Streetview shows that between July 2018 and September 2019, grey cladding was removed from the wall.
In my Islington survey, property development was the major cause of ghost signs being lost and, in cases like this one, altered. The window, which looks to have been installed during the cladding process, has created a missing portion in the sign and, while the cladding was up, a very narrow strip of the sign was lost to the left. This was either through general decay, cleaning of the wall, or a combination of the two.
There’s a square-on photo of the entire wall here on the Visible Light Pictures site, and Gabriel Nieto also shared this close-up of the right-hand portion, and its beautiful product panel with shell-like ornaments above and below.

Oneida Market
Finest Butter, Cheese & Eggs.
Oneida Market in Finest __
Finest Meats, Poultry & Fish
South 7th Street (corner of Warren Street), Hudson, New York [Streetview]