Bournelis Park, at the corner of Cass St. and Superior Street, is already becoming a meeting place for visitors, students, and residents of Albion. One Saturday, September 18, 2021 a dedication done with a historic marker.
CELEBRATE THE RESTORED COKE SIGN SATURDAY
It’s time to update website photos to the new look of the restored Coca-Cola mural downtown Albion. Community pages feature the iconic circa 1912 sign in its faded state not in its current vibrant colors.
In celebration of the restoration the community is invited to the dedication of the Coca-Cola mural and historic plaque at 11:30 AM in Bournelis Park across from the iconic sign. The dedication ceremony during the annual Festival of the Forks will feature unveiling of the new plaque and a “ribbon-cutting” in honor of the sign restoration.
Conservator Ron Koenig from Building Arts & Conservation Inc. of Saline will detail his work to restore the historic sign to its 1912 original appearance. In addition a plaque outlining a brief history of the sign will also be unveiled.
The mural was restored to its original glory with the bright Coca-Cola red as the main body color with white lettering, black, green and yellow accents. The paint palette is original to the sign and was authenticated by the Coca-Cola Corporation.
The large wall mural is called a “spectacular” because the Coca-Cola’s advertising strategy was to create the same look as the “circus coming to town” flyers that appeared all over the country at that time. To access the “spectacular” the conservators used a scissor-lift as they did with the surface prep and tuck pointing prior to the final detailed painting. Restoration work was more complicated because the sign’s unique location over the Kalamazoo River.
Originally the building housed Davis Piano Store. This is the second building to occupy this Superior and Cass Street site. Portions of the first building were swept away with the Great Albion Flood of 1908 when a great portion of downtown was demolished by the flood waters. Another building replaced this original structure is now home to the Coca-Cola historic mural. A boutique shop occupies the building and there are two upstairs apartments. Many stores over the years have set up shop in this historic brick building.
Becky Hallin is the building owner and an avid supporter of the restoration. The building has undergone tuckpointing and will have new awnings to add to the beauty of the historic structure.
The Albion mural is thought to be one of the largest in the country and the only one painted over a river. The Coca-Cola Company former archivist authenticated the date of the sign using the slogan and the configuration of the tail of the C in the word Coca. Along with local documentation of the 1908 flood and replacement building on the site, the date was narrowed to circa 1912.
The historic sign was repainted once in 1983 when local volunteers the late Mary Margaret Moore and late Polly Ballou raised money to save the sign. Using local sign painters, the sign was repainted which saved the ghost sign so that the current restoration was possible.
The Coke sign project was made possible through a Patronicity matching grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and generous local donations. The 2019 Restore Our Coke Sign: Bring Art & History Downtown community campaign was led by volunteer co-chairs Janet Domingo and Linda Kolmodin and successfully raised over $100,000 to restore the historic Coca-Cola sign and create two other downtown art projects. The Albion Community Foundation is the non-profit administering the funds.