OKANOGAN, Wash. — A couple that recently purchased a commercial property in Okanogan found a 60-foot old mural when they started remodeling the interior of the building.
According to a GoFund Me page created and organized for Lisa Timm, she and her husband were remodeling the circa 1907 commercial building they just purchased when they found the painting.
"My husband and I recently purchased the building and discovered this beautiful hand-painted mural on canvas hidden behind plaster walls, preserved but unseen for over a hundred years," Timm wrote on the GoFund Me.
The painting is 60 feet long and 20 feet tall, and it spans both the northern and southern walls.
"No one knows for sure when the mural was installed, but preliminary research revealed that the building had been used as a theater during several periods prior to about 1930, and was originally home to the Okanogan Commercial Club, a precursor of the Chamber of Commerce," Timm wrote.
According to the GoFund Me page, no signature has been found on the mural, but there is a possibility it was painted by famed Western photographer Frank Matsura, who once played in the Okanogan County Band on stage in this venue.
The couple started the GoFund Me page on Monday to help with the restoration and preservation of the mural, which is estimated to cost more than $50,000. As of Tuesday evening, the page has raised $575.
"We would love to have this priceless piece of Okanogan County history restored to its former glory so we can display it proudly for generations to come," Timm wrote.