Geotype Submission

The Geotype project charts the rich history of lettering and type forms that have established the identity of cities and towns around the world. Explore the map

How does this letter-form communicate its location?

The currently labeled Wing Chong Building was built in 1918 and originally housed the Wing Chong Company Grocery. It’s located on Monterey’s famous Cannery Row, which now caters primarily to tourists, with many shops, restaurants, and bars, plus the Monterey Bay Aquarium. While the sign certainly looks like an authentic weathered old ghost sign, it could possibly be a reproduction. Nevertheless, it reflects the post-World War I era in the USA, with its bold, all-caps typeface that was obviously hand-drawn, and with what might be a 3-D effect. This isa popular treatment that graphic designers are still doing today, more than 100 years later.

Location

835 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA, USA