Become a ghost sign hunter!

Learn how to spot the fading painted ads that linger on Toronto’s streets—remnants of early Canadian marketing that used imagery, typography, and emotion to shape a national identity. Discover what these disappearing signs can tell us about Toronto’s past, and sharpen your eye for the hidden history still visible above our streets.

This tour will be led by Stephen Petar, an award-winning publicist and Heritage Toronto Award-winning writer. His passion for ghost signs started at a Doors Open Toronto event in the early 2010s. Since then, he has documented these signs worldwide on his Instagram @GhostsOfCanada from Canada to Greece, France, Sweden and more. A born-and-raised Torontonian, he is passionate about the city’s heritage and architecture.