Popular downtown Salisbury mural set to relocate after donation

SALISBURY — A popular mural facing U.S. 50 in downtown Salisbury could be moving soon.

The Salisbury Arts Alliance, formerly known as the Salisbury Arts & Entertainment District, is donating the Heron Mural to the city. The mural, created by national artist James Thatcher, is currently located on the side of the City Center building at 213 W. Main Street.

After a resolution passed during an Aug. 26 City Council meeting, the city will commit to relocating and revitalizing the artwork.

Allen Swiger, director of the city’s Arts, Business and Culture department, told the council during a previous work session that they intend to work with Thatcher on the relocation.

“We’ve identified a couple of spots we have to finalize and make sure it works and give it some new life and visibility,” Swiger said.

Thatcher painted the original heron mural project in 1994 in memory of his wife who passed away from cancer when the couple lived in Salisbury. Ten years later Thatcher updated and redesigned the original heron silhouette mural after it faded and fell into disrepair.

The updated version arranged vertically, consisting of individual birds, each on a single panel in greens and blues, is 30 feet high.

Council President D’Shawn Doughty told Swiger that he thought it was a permanent feature and asked if it could be moved.

“It’s about seven two-by-fours that run vertically all the way up … so you’re just screwing it off and putting it on another building,” Swiger said.

Councilwoman Sharon Dashiell said it would be nice to put the mural on a note card as a fundraiser.

“It’s a renowned piece and if we are going to move it, we want to get it on some city property where we can take care of it, and we do have the funds allocated to go ahead and bring some new life to it,” Swiger added. “It needs touching up.”

Reach Managing Editor Richard Caines at rcaines@iniusa.org.