ABSTRACT
In the Spring Quarter of 2013, fourteen undergraduate students from Seattle University were engaged as a research team to inventory, research, and document the ghost signs in two of Seattle’s historic downtown neighborhoods: Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District (C-ID). The project was undertaken for the City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods (DON). At the onset of the project, the locations and total number of ghost signs in these two districts were unknown. On the first day of class, a student interest survey of the topic showed that no one knew what an urban planning studio course was, nor had they previously heard of the term ‘ghost sign.’ They indicated that they had enrolled because the term sounded “colorful, mystical, fun,” or because they were curious about the pre-registration announcement for the course that included a fading advertisement photograph along with a simple statement that said ‘Come Save the Ghost Signs of Seattle.’
