Coca-Cola Mural - Orange VA
N 38° 14.730 W 078° 06.604
17S E 752905 N 4237004
The retired Sprite Boy with a bottle of Coca-Cola still grins from the side of an old historic commercial building in Orange, VA telling people to "Take some home today".
Waymark Code: WMF4M1
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 08/22/2012
Views: 6
A Coca-Cola mural featuring Sprite Boy is on the side of the old Rohr Building in downtown Orange, Virginia. The 2-story commercial brick building was built in 1915 and originally housed the Wilbur Theater. Grymes Drug Store occupied it from the 1930s through the 1970s which is most likely when the ad was painted. Sprite Boy was used in Coke advertising from 1942 to 1953. He only appeared with a head and hands. He wore a bottle cap for a hat and had stars around his hand representing his sparkling personality and the bubbles in Coke.
Today, J. S. Mosby Antiques & Artifacts occupies the ground floor of the building, but Sprite Boy is still on the west side facing the railroad tracks with a bottle of Coca-Cola urging passers-by to "Take some home today". Located at 125 E. Main St., the building sits directly across the street from the Orange Visitor's Bureau in the old train station.
References:
- A Walking Tour of the Downtown Orange Commercial Historic District pamphlet (available at Visitor's Bureau)
- Coke Lore: Sprite Boy