Phantom signs: Hume Hotel
Updated: Aug 2, 2018
Third in a series: The ad shown below, on the side of the KWC block in Nelson, was painted sometime after the Silver King Hotel next door was demolished in 1947. It became a phantom sign in 1980, when the Hume Hotel was renamed the Heritage Inn. New proprietors Dave and Sheila Martin were trying to escape the stigma attached to the old name due to the dodgy reputation of previous owners.
By 2005, however, the hotel’s standing had long since been restored and it once again became the Hume. Consequently, the phantom sign came back into vogue. (Something similar occurred in Grand Forks, which I’ll discuss in a future post.) This month the Hume has been celebrating its 120th birthday.
This photo was taken in 2001 and you’ll note the signs for two businesses that aren’t there anymore: Ramsay’s art supplies (now Still Eagle) and Ramsbottom’s computers and graphics (now Phoenix computers).
Below: The sign, looking freshly painted, is seen sometime in the 1960s.
(Ellis Anderson photo)
