It's ALL here on one wall

The entire southern side of this old brick warehouse is covered with handpainted signs. The ones on the left are for beer and ale but it's tough to make out the kind or company name. The rollup doorway at the loading dock in the middle is a recent addition and fits in real well with the bidding's many older signs. On the right is the name Carling's Red Cap Ale. If the sign was painted when the ale was first introduced by the Carling Brewing Company, it would put the date it was painted at 1933. The company was originally incorporated as the Brewing Corp. of America, and began operations in Cleveland in 1933. (Interestingly, if you like old cars, it was established by James A. Bohannon, who had come to the city in 1929 as president of the Peerless Motor Car Company. In the heart of the Great Depression, he convinced the stockholders of Peerless to switch from luxury cars to a really good beer. The 8-acre Peerless plant was converted to a brewery.) Bohannon contracted with the Brewing Corp. of Canada for the American rights to Carling's Red Cap Ale, which had been brewed in Canada since 1840. In 1954, the Brewing Corp. of America changed its name to the Carling Brewing Co. and distributed Red Cap Ale and Black Label beer throughout the US. This sign could be 60-70 years old and is still visible on the brick surface.

Using a photograph from the Robertson and Fresh Collection from the University of South Florida Libraries Special Collections, I found that Dave Gordon & Company exhibited at the 1937 Florida State Fair and sold refrigeration equipment, pumps and industrial supplies. The building in the photograph was their offices and warehouse. I couldn't find any relationship between Red Cap Ale and Gordon so perhaps they sold or rented advertising space on their brick facade to the beer distributor. Traffic on this road, Adamo Drive / Florida Highway 60 has always been heavy and a product would easily be seen.