A new, huge and vintage-style Coca-Cola mural, complete with a Route 66 shield, recently was painted onto a prominent building in downtown Galena, Kansas, where two Route 66 alignments meet.
The century-old building sits at Kansas Route 66 (the newer alignment) and Main Street (aka old Route 66).
A local television station recently reported about the mural when it still was in progress:
The soda company first approached the building’s owner about placing the nostalgic mural at the busy intersection about a year ago. It’s 16 by 60 feet and is expected to appeal to Mother Road enthusiasts traveling through the small Southeast Kansas town.
“The tourists that are traveling Route 66, they love to have focal points where they can stop and take pictures, and I think that will that will be a huge attraction right there,” says Ashley Qualls Groves, Galena Council Member.
“I’ve lived here for a long time and a lot of good things are happening in Galena. I just thought this might be a way to contribute in some small way,” says Joseph West, building owner.
West said in a phone interview Thursday that Mythiq Art & Mural of nearby Joplin, which painted the new mural on behalf of Coca-Cola, found a 30-year-old Pepsi mural and other long-faded artwork on the wall before starting the project.
It is one of several murals or billboards in Galena designed to appeal to Route 66 enthusiasts, including this one, this one and this one.
West declined to give details about the financial arrangements with Coca-Cola for adding the mural to his building.
A volunteer at the Galena Mining & Historical Museum said the building long was known as the Schwartz Building, named after longtime owner Otto Schwartz, who had a drugstore there on the first floor. The second floor once contained a doctor’s office and maternity ward.
(Image of the new Coca-Cola mural courtesy of Renee Charles)