A few days ago a group of local citizens and business owners met informally in the conference room at First US Bank. The topic for the day was a recent presentation and offer for the City of Centreville to join a movement called Mainstreet Alabama, hosted at The Oaks by the Bibb County of Chamber of Commerce. The event was attended by about 50 people.
While the discussion is ongoing to determine if there is enough mass and momentum to support a “Mainstreet” effort, one idea that continues to bubble up is the talk of what locals can do to improve the “look and feel” of the downtown district of the City of Centreville. The idea of a wall mural bubbles to the surface in every conversation.
Calvin Elliott, a councilman for the City of Centreville says that the idea of a wall mural in the business district is very appealing and that he generally supports the concept and wants to help find the citizen support to make it happen. Valerie Cook, Executive Director of the Bibb County Chamber of Commerce has been a supporter of the idea and is aware of volunteers that have offered their time and talent to painting a mural if approvals for such a project can be obtained.
Many small towns in Alabama have already discovered and added attractive wall murals to their downtown areas. Nearby Greensboro and Montevallo are good examples. A quick google search will uncover other appealing murals to be found on road trips throughout the South.
While any property owner can authorize the painting on the wall of privately owned property there are restrictions on buildings located within the Centreville Historic Business District. Such additions to the exterior of historic buildings would require pre-approval by the Centreville Historic Preservation Commission according to CHPC chairman Christian Sanford. She added that the commission would be willing to consider such a project as long as any theme offered or proposed did not detract from the historic character of the business district or flagrantly violate the design guidelines already in place. The CHPC is presently engaged with ideas and planning to improve the looks of the Centreville business district, including ideas to expand the greenspace area, improving the looks of the vegetation planted along the sidewalks and recommending ways to make visiting Centreville more appealing to tourists and visitors. “An appropriately designed and placed mural could be a valuable addition to the town space”, she said.
The video link below will take you to an interesting story about a mural project in southern Georgia. An interesting case study before attempting such a project here in Centreville.
The Bibb Voice would like to know your thoughts on a wall mural in Centreville. Hit us up in the comments section below or add your thoughts on wall murals to our facebook page @bibbvoice.
Read about murals in Clarke County
there is a short commercial that pops up with this video …….
https://www.rfdtv.com/story/42227533/rural-murals-on-main-streets
