Renovation Reveals Ghost Signs at Ninth and Q

The renovation of the buildings at Ninth and Q appears to be moving pretty quickly, and I love it (remember how they used to look?).  New windows went in a while ago, and workers buzz around the site everyday.  Rumor is that the finished product will include three condominiums (two facing Q, one facing Rhode Island Avenue) and ground floor retail along Rhode Island Avenue.

Here's how it looked today:

Interestingly, when they removed a rotten old side bay on the Ninth Street frontage a while ago, I noticed the remains of an old sign:

And when they recently began stripping the paint from the brick, another old, more faint, was revealed:

I know these particular buildings have seen a variety of uses in their 100+ years of existence.  It would be interesting to know what these ghost signs originally said.