116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Shellsburg rallies to restore 1920s mural
Hand-painted sign initially advertised Gold Medal Flour
SHELLSBURG — The iconic Gold Medal Flour mural that greets people in downtown Shellsburg is receiving a much-needed face-lift after months of communitywide fundraising.
The restoration of the mural in the Benton County city, about 20 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids, is in its final stages of restoration.
The mural, on the north side of the Pearl Street Social Club at 110 Pearl St., was created around 1920 by the Thomas Cusack Co. of Chicago, one of the nation’s top outdoor advertising firms at the time, according to a news release.
Minnesota mill owner Cadwallader Washburn founded Gold Medal Four in 1888 after his flour won a gold medal in international competition.
While hand-painted advertising murals, or “ghost signs,” such as the Gold Medal mural, were once commonplace, most have been lost to time.
Over the years, the Shellsburg mural also began to deteriorate, with its bright green and red colors fading and chipping away to reveal the underlying bricks. Last July, the Shellsburg Area Community Group began a fundraising effort to restore and preserve the mural.
The group raised more than $12,000 for the restoration, which is being done by Shellsburg artist Ed Callan of Ed Callan Signs Unltd.
Jim Hidinger, a volunteer with the Shellsburg Area Community Group, said funds were raised using a GoFundMe campaign, a flyer mailed to locals, and the sale of a specialty ale adorned with Shellsburg imagery sold at local retailers last year.
The goal was to preserve a unique, historic piece of Shellsburg, Hidinger said.
“Hand-painted artwork used to be the way advertising was done in days gone by,” he said. “So to have something like that in your community is pretty unique.”
Prep work on the mural began Tuesday, with repainting starting Thursday afternoon and scheduled to take three to four days, he said.
The repainted mural will be an exact replica of the original and will be hand-painted by Callan and his friend Jeff King of Palo.
Callan has painted signs since the 1970s, including the welcome signs to Shellsburg, population 983.
The mural restoration is a way to preserve a piece of history, Callan said.
“It’s history that will stay there,” Callan said. “Unfortunately, in a lot of places, they get painted over, the building gets demolished and rebuilt.”
Janice Crowley, owner of the Pearl Street Social Club that features the mural, said she loves Shellsburg’s small town feel and is looking forward to seeing the restored mural.
“I can’t wait to see what it’s going to look like,” Crowley said. “I’m excited.”
Comments: (319)-265-6849; isabelle.foland@thegazette.com
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