Main Street Greenville’s Mural Committee has been hard at work planning and securing funding for public art which will bring attention and visitors to downtown Greenville; their efforts to revitalize the local landscape will soon show visible progress when on Thursday, October 19 the first new mural is installed at 428 South Broadway on the building currently housing the Greenville Daily Advocate/Early Bird offices. The design is based on a historic Curt Teich post card sold at McClurg’s Book Store in the 1950’s. The public is invited to bring their chairs, sit for a spell, and enjoy the “mural installation watch.”
To celebrate this initial installation, the Mural Committee is offering hot dogs and potato chips from 11 to 1; Merchant House is contributing to this “free lunch.” Additionally, Greenville High School’s Wavaires will be performing, with brief remarks from project officials and sponsors at 12 noon. Joe Wintrow of Wintrow Signs and Designs is in charge of the installation and says that he hopes the public comes out to watch him work.
According to Mural Committee chair Eileen Litchfield, this is the first project of an ongoing effort to see artistic muralsdecorating Greenville’s downtown buildings. “In just a few weeks, a second colorful mural will be going up honoring a Darke County icon, and a popular artist with local roots is working on yet another design that will further beautify our walls within a few months,” Ms. Litchfield said; “We are just getting started,” she added with a smile.
Main Street Greenville has received financial support for the mural project from the Harry Stephens Memorial, Darke County Endowment for the Arts, Brown Family Foundation, Darke County Foundation, Ketrow Foundation, and Lydia Schaurer Memorial Trust. Wintrow Signs is also a major contributor to this effort, as are Tim Wells Arts Consulting, City of Greenville, and Fitzwater Outdoor Maintenance. Additionally, the Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.
Featured photo (provided): The 1952 Curt Teich post card which provides the design for the new downtown Greenville mural