Livingston, Yellowstone and Calamity James
Downtown Livingston
Upon recommendation from my ghost sign friends I drove through Livingston on my most recent trip to Yellowstone National Park. Ghost signs in Livingston? Okay, I will chase down any lead for the next best sign in the “Last Best Place” in the lower 48. I took the photo above, turned around at the corner and saw as many looking the other way! It is a relatively small town – under 16,000 people in the entire county and less than 8,000 in Livingston. It is now mentioned among Montanans for its famous residents and visitors like Dennis Quaid and Peter Fonda instead of its Garnier Cigar factory, Northern Pacific Railroad and the rough and tough Calamity Jane from years past. It was the movie location for A River Runs Through It and The Horse Whisperer. Livingston was the original Gateway to Yellowstone and is a short half hour to my absolute “MUST stay twice a year place” Chico Hot Springs. If Livingston interests you Wikipedia has a great overview of its history including a list of past and present celebrities.
Back to ghost signs – the real reason I drove through that charming town. There is a quite well known M&O Cigar sign sporting “Every Puff A Pleasure” as well as two Coca Cola signs, Chesterfield Cigarettes, Its The Wheat Flour and many signs painted over signs which are painted over other signs. Over time I will sort through what they actually say and look up some of the history for a future topic. I will be back to Livingston. Not just to improve on the photos I got but to spend some time in a cafe and browse a book store. I will be posting more photos of Livingston and the surrounding towns on Flickr and my photo page later.
In: Uncategorized · Tagged with: Chesterfield Cigarettes, Drink Coca Cola, Ghost Signs, It's The Wheat Flour, Livingston Montana, M&O Cigars