There’s no need to go to a big city to enjoy and appreciate art. The Delaware Art Walk is a self-guided walking tour that provides a great opportunity to explore and learn more about public art in the downtown Delaware area. Even if you live in Delaware, you may not have noticed these hidden gems.
The Art Walk will take about an hour. It begins and ends at The Arts Castle where there is parking available to leave your car. Take a walk and enjoy the art work that downtown Delaware has to offer!
GHOST SIGN
All over America in the late 1800s and early 1900s, businesses painted bold, colorful advertising on downtown buildings. Some of these hand-painted signs advertised local businesses and some were promoting national products. Generally, these signs became prohibited as zoning laws spread across the country in the mid-twentieth century. As the paint has faded in the years since these ads have become known as “ghost signs”. Many of the signs can still be read today. One of the reasons that the signs have endured so long is that the oil-based paint contained lead which permeated the brick surface. Sometimes it is difficult to interpret some ghost signs because they have been over-painted with a new advertisement without removing the old one.