In mid-August, the mural that has spent a decade gracing downtown Walterboro quietly returned home.
The mural, installed in April of 2010 as the result of a community effort, had been removed from its fastners on East Washington Street a few days after this year’s April 13 tornado carved a damaging path through the city. This quick removal was undertaken in cooperation with Matt Mardell of the Colleton Museum, in order to ensure the preservation of this piece of local art.
Mardell said the high winds damaged the framing that held up the mural while leaving the artwork unharmed.
The mural, commissioned by the county’s Keep Colleton Beautiful organization as a beautification project, quickly became an integral part of downtown Walterboro.
Artist Jorge Ruiz designed and produced the mural with a team of community volunteers as a tribute to silhouette artist Carew Rice.
The awning that protects the mural was also partially dislodged by the wind. The contractor who repaired the façade and awning, John Crews Construction, added that “luckily the façade wall was not affected, just the framing in the openings.” This property fared better than several downtown buildings that had their roofs damaged and awnings torn by the swirling winds.
After the damage was assessed, the 14 panels that make up the mural were removed and stored at the Colleton Museum until the repairs could be undertaken.
City offices received numerous calls immediately after the mural was taken down for preservation, wondering what had happened to it, indicating great interest in its survival.
While the mural was in storage, citizens and passers-by got a rare peak into the property (in front of the post office) behind the façade that is now a one-story-deep vacant lot that was once the home of Brown Hardware.
Charlotte Heaton, majority owner of the property, said, “There was never a doubt that the mural would be safely returned to its rightful location on East Washington Street. It was a great community project and belongs downtown.”
