Mural at Lucky 32

Sixteen years ago, in 2002, Chip Holton painted the mural at the entrance to Lucky 32 at Westover Terrace. The above photo features an iconic scene of the Greensboro Sit-Ins, a non-violent protest at the Woolworth on Elm Street. In the mural, David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr. and Joseph McNeil are seated waiting to be served a cup of coffee at a lunch counter where the wait staff was refusing to serve them. The floor to ceiling 14' mural, along a curved wall, is full of scenes from Greensboro's history. Some of the scenes in the mural have playful twists like the square hamburger bun next to a railroad underpass, an obvious nod to Greensboro's Hamburger Square. All of the imagery features scenes from Greensboro's history.* 

The artist, Chip Holton, is from down the road in Lexington, North Carolina; however, his Greensboro influence is far-reaching. Chip produced all of the artwork in the O. Henry Hotel and the Proximity Hotel. **  His artwork can also be found in places like the North Carolina Zoo, the North Carolina Natural History Museum in Raleigh, and Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. 

 * Reference and more information can be found in this 2002 article by Jim Schlosser, back when Jim worked at the News & Record.

** Read more about Chip Holton at his website, here.

 

Comments

[Lowell]

Wow, this takes me back...those were not the "good old days," they were scary and horrible. I remember this event well. I can't imagine the courage it took for these people to sit at that lunch counter!

[William Kendall]

Vividly done.