Bright, brick Vernors sign exposed after razing

A golden-yellow and green Vernors ginger ale sign painted on bricks stands out among faded storefronts along West McNichols on Detroit's west side.

Freshly exposed after a neighboring building on the 7500 block of West McNichols was demolished, the image was well-preserved, apparently for many decades: "Drink Vernor's Ginger Ale, mellowed 4 years in wood."

Vernors' deep Detroit roots date back to the late 1800s, when Civil War veteran James Vernor, a Detroit pharmacist, returned from battle to a mixture he'd let age four years in an oak cask, according to the Vernors website. Vernors is now part of the Texas-based Dr. Pepper Snapple Group.

The Free Press received an email tip about the exposed sign from Joe Marra, who reports seeing a demolition crew knocking down the adjacent building on West McNichols a few blocks west of Livernois. A wall was brought down, and the sign became visible.

The City of Detroit demolished the neighboring building as part of a program to remove blighted commercial structures along the city's main neighborhood corridors. The city has demolished about 125 of them this year, a spokesman said.

On Google Maps, it appears the building was connected to its former neighbor, with no alley separating the two. The red building is now gone, leave a gaping hole in the ground with a hurricane-fence perimeter.

Contact Robert Allen: rallen@freepress.com or @rallenMI.