Special to Iredell Free News

As part of the ongoing revitalization of Downtown Mooresville, the town’s streetscape was recently enhanced through the addition of public art and by the first phase of a restoration project of decorative wall signs which highlight Downtown’s special character.

The Town of Mooresville will continue to renovate and restore additional historic wall and “ghost” signs within the Commercial Core Historic District by teaming up again with Brushcan Custom Murals.

Brushcan worked with the Town in Phase I and uses a unique restoration process to restore wall signs by making the signs more legible to preserve them for the future, while also leaving them beautifully subtle and faded to retain their historic design.

During Phase II of this project, North Main Street is the focus, with sign restoration occurring at 118, 134, 152, and 202 North Main Street. The restored signs will highlight both national and local brands, including Wrigley’s Gum, Coca-Cola, Miller Drug, Pepsi Cola, W. C. Johnston Hardware, and DeLuxe Ice Cream.

The signs located at 118 and 152 North Main Street are substantially weathered and close to being completely washed away from the brick façades. At 134 and 202 North Main, the signs were painted over and will be restored based on graphics created from archival photographs of the original historic signs and business advertisements. The only notable exception is the DeLuxe Ice Cream sign at 202 North Main Street. Although photographs reveal that at least one wall sign was historically located on the façade, an archival photograph of this particular sign has not been discovered so the sign will be thoughtfully crafted and included.

This project is a collaboration between the Town’s Historic Preservation Commission and its Beautification Committee, with funding from the Towns Board of Commissioners. Their goal is to restore painted wall signs that were commonplace during Mooresville’s Railroad Era. The project will begin the second week of March.