Palmetto Sign Co.

94 Queen St.
CHARLESTON, S. C.

EST. 1913

Ah, the good old days of ornate mail-order cast iron or terra cotta columns and ornaments you spiked onto your storefront however you fancied. (The days when plate glass really was deadly plate glass, when white paint was white lead, and when boarding up required actual boards instead of plywood.)

What gets me is the scale. I estimate about 4-foot-8 between columns for a total store width of perhaps only 18 feet. On a busy urban sidewalk, a passerby would hardly have noticed it.

Another wonderful photograph from Walker Evans.

The pride and craftsmanship in creating this simple building speaks volumes of how society has devolved, considering The_Bishop's comment about the bland structure now on this site.

Where the startling sensation you'll remember most is not the heat, but the humidity. Or as some (not me) say, the stupidity.

I was curious as to what product The Plenge Chemical Co., Inc. manufactured. I have to wonder what testing was done to conclude their product was harmless to human beings while being death to insects.

Click to embiggen

The Plenge Chemical Co. relocated to 140 East Bay Street in 1927. I wish I could say that this facade withstood all perils and is still there, gloriously restored. Alas, that would be a complete lie. And the extremely bland building that occupies this space now will only evoke one single sensation -- utter boredom.