A sip of history: Pepsi mural uncovered on building’s wall
By Chase Kmosena
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WAUSAU, Wisconsin (WAOW) — A century-old Pepsi mural has been discovered hidden beneath the siding of a building on North 3rd Street in Wausau.
Nancy Bornheimer, owner of 1st Place Trophy & Engraving, hired Mike Whitmore Construction to update the old siding on the building. Workers uncovered the painted advertisement shortly after starting the project.
“They basically looked at me and said: ‘Look at what we found’. I was shocked,” Bornheimer said.
Mike Whitmore, owner of Mike Whitmore Construction, said the discovery came as a surprise. “We had just set up in the afternoon to start removing siding. It didn’t take long until we started to find the paint underneath … Just showed up for another day on the job, and all of a sudden we found this. It’s kind of a neat change,” Whitmore said.
The discovery prompted history lovers to research the building and the mural. Christine Martens, president of Friends of Wausau Historic Landmarks, said the Pepsi logo dates back to the late 1930s.
“It’s hard to tell exactly, but that Pepsi logo, if my research is correct, was used in the late 1930’s, mid to late 1930’s, to about 1950,” Martens said.
The building was constructed in 1910 and opened as a business shortly after. “August of 1914, George and his wife Eugenia opened their business here which was a grocery store,” Martens said.
The building changed hands several times after 1929. “The Krueger’s, the Eggebrecht’s, the Wandry’s,” Martens said.
Frank and Erna Otto purchased the building in 1947. After the mural was uncovered, people said they remembered visiting the store decades ago. “And that’s who a lot of people remember going and buying dime story candy from,” Martens said.
Martens believes the mural was covered sometime in the 1960s. Bornheimer plans to preserve the mural so people can enjoy it.
“Doing something, somehow to actually preserve it as it is. So that people can go by and enjoy it,” Bornheimer said.
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