NEWBERRY — Over the last couple of weeks many passing through Downtown Newberry might have noticed that the Coca-Cola Mural on McKibben Street is being restored.
Newberry resident Sinclair Talbot applied for the City of Newberry’s Facade Improvement Grant to get the mural rejuvenated and was approved.
“I am a Realtor for over 30 years in Newberry. I just think the first impression is important for anything in real estate you are trying to sell or purchase. This, to me, is selling more of the history of Newberry,” Talbot said. “I was tired of looking at it deteriorating and I knew it had been done by these young people (who had restored it before). Talk about historic Newberry — that is history.”
Talbot’s journey to get the mural restored began when she contacted the building’s owner, who lives in Augusta, Ga., and he gave her the go ahead to have it restored. When her work began last summer, she contacted Coca-Cola, which is based in Atlanta, and they referred her to a Columbia based Coca-Cola plant.
Talbot said she received no response from them which led her the facade grant, thanks to her friend Barbara Miller.
“I have to give Barbara Miller the credit, she has been instrumental in helping several of these merchants downtown get these Facade Grants. I mentioned it to her and she said I may want to look into Facade Grant available through the City of Newberry. So I did. She helped me with that,” Talbot said.
Matt DeWitt, assistant city manager with the City of Newberry, said most grant applications the city receives include painting the building itself, addition of new windows and other restorations.
“This is the first of its kind, one I think everyone was really excited about because the Coca-Cola mural needed updating,” DeWitt said.
The Facade Improvement Grant program is now in its third year. According to DeWitt, the purpose of the program is to help improve Downtown Newberry.
“People were not investing in their buildings and part of the downtown environment is the visual environment. We wanted people to feel like Downtown Newberry was a cool place to hang out,” he said. “The Facade Grant Program has gotten a lot of positive feedback over last three years. It’s made a major impact on our buildings.”
The mural project is an example of how facade grants help preserve the past, according to DeWitt. He said it is an opportunity for Newberry to preserve something that has been in the community for a really long time.
The Facade Grant Program goes along with the fiscal year, meaning the application process opens on July 1, applicants then have until the end of October to apply. The applications must be approved by the Architectural Review Board, which approves any type of renovations downtown. The projects must then be completed in May.
“The ARB was very much in favor of this project. This was almost like a no brainer because it is something historic they got to preserve and something a lot of people are aware of. You tell them Coca-Cola Mural downtown, they know exactly what you are talking about,” DeWitt said.
Qualifying projects are eligible for a grant match of 90 percent on projects up to $10,000 per facade (or $9,000 on a $10,000 project), 90 percent (City of Newberry)/10 percent (applicant) matching basis as funds are available. The final price for the Coca-Cola mural came down to $4,000 to restore it, and will be guaranteed for five years.
“Mrs. Talbot spearheaded this project. It is something she has a passion about. She has done all this work, and she does not even own the building,” DeWitt said. “The city is grateful for her involvement and appreciates folks like her getting involved in projects like this one.”
Talbot received two bids for the mural restoration. She went with David Phillips, who not only has experience with murals, but she says he is also an artist. Talbot said Phillips has kept her up-to-date everyday since he began.
Phillips and his brother have been working on the mural together. Phillips said they found a picture of a similar design online, and are working based on that. The picture includes some reddish color in the characters cheeks.
“As an artist you want it to be as eye catching as possible so he will have reddish color again,” Phillips said.
The exact history of the Newberry Coca-Cola mural is unknown. It is known that the character on the mural is named Sprite Boy (not named for the soda). According to Coca-Cola’s website, Sprite Boy made his first appearance in magazine advertising for the brand in the early 1940s.