LOCAL NEWS
Okanogan restaurant renovation discovers 100-year-old hand-painted murals
A wack of a sledgehammer and a peek inside an old wall in Okanogan revealed a secret.
Nick and Lisa Timm recently purchased a more than a century-old building in Okanogan, renovating it for a new restaurant and bar. While tearing down a plaster edifice, they discovered two 60-foot murals within.
In a matter of minutes the murals would have been lost had they proceeded with their plan to plaster over the wall, Nick Timm told KIRO Newsradio.
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Historians believe local artist W.J. McConnon painted the murals as they were passing through town.
The Okanogan Historical Society confirms from newspaper clippings that the paintings date back to 1917. “120 feet of panorama landscape scenery in light tans,” is written in a local newspaper of the mural, according to KING 5.
One painting will stay in the building, another in a museum. Timm added that an internet campaign sponsored the donation process to preserve the murals.
Nick and Lisa’s restaurant and bar, The Red Light, will open in mid-September, 2022.
