As one local put it: "That's been there for as long as I can remember. Is lead paint that good?"

Honest question. The answer, unfortunately for modern paint manufacturers, might be yes.

San Francisco is full of these ghost signs — remnants of a time when advertising meant hiring a guy with a paintbrush and a steady hand instead of buying a programmatic ad placement through three layers of middlemen. They're scattered across the Mission, SoMa, Potrero Hill, and beyond, silent monuments to an era when brands actually made things that lasted. The irony that a soda ad has more staying power than most city infrastructure projects practically writes itself.

What makes the Shasta sign worth noting isn't just nostalgia. It's a reminder that San Francisco used to be a city where things were built — products, brands, buildings, businesses — not just regulated, taxed, and committees-to-death. Shasta was a scrappy, affordable alternative to Coca-Cola, a brand that thrived on being the budget-friendly option. In today's San Francisco, where a bottle of artisanal kombucha runs you $9, there's something almost revolutionary about a sign advertising an honest, cheap soda.

The ghost sign community — yes, that's a thing, and God bless them — has documented and cataloged these survivors at sfghostsigns.com. It's the kind of preservation effort we can get behind: zero taxpayer dollars, driven entirely by people who care, and producing something the whole city can appreciate.

No permits required. No $4 million feasibility study. Just a wall, some old paint, and a city that hasn't gotten around to covering it up yet.

Long may it fade.