Delray Beach, FL, Nov. 3--Repainting the enormous mural wrapped around portions of the ABC Carpet & Home store was no easy task.
It took three artists working eight-hour days for three weeks in September to freshen the 11,000 to 13,000-square-foot spray painted replica of the store's brownstone center in Manhattan. The mural was completely reworked to restore its faded and discolored look. Some of the original artists returned for the job.
"We were out there all day in the burning sun," said Len Berroth, one of the artists. "It was a labor of love."
The artists were so proud of their work that they said they contacted Guinness World Records to create a new category that would make their mural the biggest in the world.
Painted on the front and back of the store, and visible from Interstate 95 and Congress Avenue, the roughly six year old mural is a mostly brown, gold and terra cotta-colored picture of columns and windows of the company's 1886 building in Manhattan.
David Landy, the store's president, estimates his company spent about $170,000 to paint and repaint the mural.
The store wanted a catchy mural to draw the attention of thousands of passing drivers on I-95, Landy said. So the company chose the image of its flagship store instead of, say, a local icon or historic theme, because store owners figured the picture of the Manhattan store would resonate with former New Yorkers who live in South Florida and make up the bulk of the store's clientele.
"We were looking for identity," Landy said.
The owners initially wanted to paint a mural around the entire length of the store, but the city wouldn't permit it, city officials said. There were concerns it would serve as an advertisement that would run afoul of the city's sign ordinance.
The eccentric crew of artists came from Daytona Beach, DeLand and Laguna Beach, CA. They say they derive their energy and motivation from divine inspiration.
"We're interpreting a higher consciousness," Berroth said. "It comes through your head and it works through your hands."
A close look at the mural reveals glimpses of space ships, scorpions and even portraits of the artists themselves hidden between the painted columns.
Whether they get the Guinness World Record distinction or not, the artists see their work as an important way to educate the public about art.
The mural also has made them local celebrities.
"I get free drinks when I come here," said Perego, who doesn't use a last name.
