Isabelle Strain shared with us her very cool project about ghost walls in New Castle. She gave permission for us to share it with all of you!

Isabelle is a student at Ball State perusing her master’s degree in architecture and Historic Preservation. She was challenged with creating an independent study project as she works toward completing her studies. She has visited New Castle many times and became interested in the collection of old hand-painted signs, also called ghost signs or fading ads, in New Castle. 

Her project became centered around these signs, and she created a StoryMap, or webpage, that is accessible to the public. The site identifies where these signs are located and some history that surrounds them. The information includes histories, historic photos, examples of how other cities have celebrated these remnants of history, and more. Check it out here. This is a very fascinating resource for New Castle history!

Thank you, Isabelle, for thinking of us and sharing this treasure!