On June 23, 2026, a team of researchers and historians began a citywide survey of Toronto’s historic hand‑painted advertising signs. The effort is led by Haydn Watters and Stephen Petar and is being reported by CBC Toronto while receiving support from Heritage Toronto.
These hand‑painted advertisements, often called “ghost signs,” have persisted on brick façades for decades. Their faded lettering and imagery remain visible despite weathering, providing a visual record of commercial activity, design trends, and neighborhood identities that have shaped the city since the early twentieth century.
The project’s aim is to locate, photograph, and catalogue the surviving signs in order to reveal the stories they conceal. By mapping their distribution and documenting their condition, the team hopes to illustrate how everyday marketing once punctuated Toronto’s streetscapes and how those remnants continue to echo the past.
CBC Toronto will produce a series of reports based on the findings, while Heritage Toronto will incorporate the data into its archival collections. The collaboration involves field visits to brick‑wall locations identified through community tips and archival research, followed by systematic recording of each sign’s dimensions, lettering, and any identifiable brand or date.
Through this documentation, the initiative seeks to raise public awareness of the city’s built heritage and to encourage preservation of the remaining ghost signs. The effort underscores the value of ordinary visual artifacts as markers of Toronto’s evolving commercial and cultural landscape.