New coats of paint are refreshing two faded Coca-Cola “ghost murals” in downtown Farmville, bringing new life to the walls and nostalgic feelings to those who see them.

Painters worked on one mural on North Main Street at The Shoppes at Poplar Hall last week; and are now painting one at West Third and North streets.

An “All American Downtown Celebration,” sponsored by Coca-Cola Consolidated, will celebrate the North Main Street mural on Oct. 1 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at 302 N. Main St.

Coca-Cola Consolidated spokeswoman Emilie Nicholls said the timing of the project was centered on the upcoming Oct. 4 vice presidential debate.

“We knew this debate was happening,” Nicholls said. “Our local team that has the Longwood (University) account knew about it … we’re excited that the timing could work.”

The two Farmville murals were chosen for restoration for a few reasons, Nicholls said, noting the location of the one on North Main, calling it beautiful and picturesque.

“The building owners were open to it … that’s a big one for me,” she said. “They were very excited about it as well.”

“I think it is very nostalgic,” Farmville Mayor David Whitus said, adding he was old enough to have seen the murals when they had more color. “I remember the Coca-Cola of the 1960s and 1970s. I think it will be a real attraction for people as they visit town to look at the restored Coca-Cola murals.”

Nicholls said both murals might have been painted in the 1920s.

“Coca-Cola contacted us probably 18 months ago,” said Dianne Bozarth; she and her husband, Nathan, own Poplar Hall. “(Coca Cola) said that they would like to restore that mural on the building. We were just delighted to have that done.”

According to its website, Poplar Hall is reputed to be the oldest commercial building in Farmville and the front of the building still bears the impacts of two cannon balls fired from across the nearby Appomattox River at the end of the American Civil War.

Lettering artist Jack Fralin, who owns Best Bet Arts in Roanoke, is painting the murals with his crew. Fralin said he’s worked with Coca-Cola for about 10 years now, having restored about 24 ghost murals.

“It’s very hard to get to,” he said of the mural at Poplar Hall. “Everybody’s been working together to get this done. It’s kind of urban renewal. The pigment’s still trying to make its way through what’s been put on top of it. Other paints come and go and have worn off and these letters still seem to come at you, you know, just pop out of these.”

Fralin said Farmville Town Manager Gerald Spates was “indispensable” in getting the projects prepared and completed. He said it was an honor to work with the two murals in Farmville.

“I get to return to a standard. I get to reference those,” he said of Coca-Cola’s earlier paint schemes and standards. “It’s like archeology.”

Fralin said the thrill comes from getting to bring the mural back to life.

“I get to jump in there, take something that people have in their consciousness, these signs, and a lot of times they haven’t seen one painted,” he said.

Poplar Hall Sales Manager Katy Anderson said she’s excited by the project.

“It’s part of the downtown revitalization, preserving the history, I think those are really important things: preserving the past and embracing the future,” Anderson said.

Nicholls said Coca-Cola had about 16,000 paintings at the height of wall mural advertising, she said.

According to Farmville historian and business owner Jimmy Hurt, Coca-Cola had a bottling plant open on West Third Street in 1925. A new one opened in 1930 and operated until 1969, he said.