Hidden mural to become centerpiece of Gastonia renovation project

GASTONIA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Secrets once hidden in plain sight have been rediscovered in downtown Gastonia. The treasure was recently discovered by DJ Fly Ty and Preston Wilson.

“We knew they had opportunity, and we knew that the building had potential,” Ty said.

The discovery was made inside a corner building on East Main Avenue.

“Uncovering this is most certainly a game changer,” Wilson said. “It made it worth it. Yeah.”

The two strangers became business partners when they renovated the building across the street. It’s now the home of Christian Jacobs – a space for hairstylists and artists.

“Gastonia was once a popping city, and we’re just trying to get it back to that greatness to what it once was,” Ty said.

The duo decided to buy space across the street and give it more life when the building became available. Turns out the purchase came with a bigger purpose.

“When we made the purchase, I came in here one day after that and it was – I mean it was musty, full of water. The roof had collapsed in several places, and it had been like that for years and years,” Wilson said. “I saw a crack in the wall that had a little bit of – I saw a little bit of blue in it.”

Wilson said that speck of blue was unusual.

“I grabbed a piece of wood from the roof that had fallen in and just kind of tapped on the wall and a big chunk fell off the wall and I saw like an ‘S’ and an ‘A’ and I was like, ‘Oh, there’s something under here,” Wilson said.

It was a hidden mural featuring a 20^th century advertisement for Piedmont Cigarettes.

“When we saw that mural, that changed the game,” Ty said.

Discovering the mural changed their decision for the vision of this space.

“All you need’s a sign,” Wilson said.

It’s called a ghost sign because this type of advertising is hidden in plain sight.

Alicyn Wiedrich is a curator with the Gaston County Museum. She said despite how common this type of advertising was – it’s rare to see an outdoor mural like it so well preserved.

“There are a lot of different tobacco companies that were trying to sell cigarettes, and they were painting murals all over the place,” Wiedrich said. “Over time, people build over and put things over history. And so, as you’re renovating things, you can uncover all these little mysteries and all these little secrets from our past.”

These uncovered secrets are about to be rediscovered again.

“Behind every mural there’s a story,” Ty said.

And the story of the mural in the rubble is still being explored. You can follow the journey of the mural here.