My involvement with the Okanogan Murals began earlier this year. On January 28, 2022, I received the following email and a link from my Canadian colleague John Madill.
He wrote, “In case you hadn’t seen this (nice tranquil images and palette). Cheers, J”
The article reported, “A couple renovating a 115-year-old building discovered two 60-foot-long hidden murals.” The accompanying photograph pictured a lovely landscape painting above piles of construction debris.
Madill was just the first of many friends and colleagues who day shared this story with me on January 28, urging me to contact the young couple. I didn’t have to think about it for long, as Lisa Timm contacted me the next day.
On January 29, 2002, I received the following FB message:
“Hi, Wendy! My husband and I recently uncovered a 60ft mural from 1915 and are hoping to conserve it. I was wondering if you could offer any advice or expertise as it looks like a theatre backdrop. There are videos and pictures on our Facebook group (mural restoration at the historic Timm building). Thanks so much.”
I had already delayed several out-of-state business trips, as familial obligations were pressing. I was trying to stick close to home. However, that did not stop me from finding Okanogan on a map. Amazingly, it was an hour north of Chelan, Washington. I was working with a theater owner in that town.
My Chelan client was Ruby Theatre owner, Larry Hibbard. In fact, I had just received half of the main drape for the Ruby Theatre with a request to bid out replicating curtain, complete with hand-painted border. I would soon find out that J. M. Deeds Scenic Studio had not only decorated Okanogan’s Hub Theatre, but also Chelan’s Ruby Theatre. This was my sign to quickly document the Okanogan murals and visit the Ruby Theatre.
The Ruby Theatre Curtain.
Originally constructed as a commercial building in 1907, the structure in Okanogan initially housed the Okanogan Commercial Club, a precursor of the Chamber of Commerce. By 1915, the building was transformed into the Hub theatre. The theatre renovation included the installation of two 60’-0” long large murals on the north and south side walls. On Dec. 7, 1915, the “Okanogan Independent” announced, “Improvements at Hub’s.” The article reported, “Hub Carlton has contracted with J. M. Deeds of Wenatchee for interior decorations, new screen and new curtain for the Hub Theatre that will greatly improve the inside appearance of this popular playhouse. Mr. Deeds came up from Wenatchee last week and is now supervising the work, which is being done by W. J. McConnon, and experienced decorator who has been in Mr. Deeds employ for some time. Mr. Deeds has just completed decorations for the Wenatchee theater, which is said to be one of the finest in this part of the state, and also is the man who did the decorating for the Ruby Theatre of Chelan, known far and near as one of the most attractive playhouses in the country. The new improvements at the Hub include 120 feet of panoramic landscape scenery in light tans. The picture screen will be 11×13 feet in size and have frame effects of moulding. There will also be a pretty drop advertising curtain with an overhead roll, noiseless I operation and will be controlled from the operator’s booth. Mr. Carlton is sparing no means to improve his place of business and is making additions to his equipment as rapidly as business will warrant.”
In 1918, another building renovation transformed the building into the Paramount, a movie house. It was at this time that the two three-years-old murals were encapsulated between the original wood walls and the new plaster walls.
An article from May 14, 1918, described the new Paramount Theatre recently completed by C. P. Scates, reporting, “When Mr. Scates first went into the theatre business in this city, he expected to erect a new building. He secured a location and had architects submit plans for an up-to-date theatre, but soon discovered that war prices on labor and material made it absolutely impractical to build at the present time. He then set about to remodel the old building, which has been accomplished under mechanical guidance of Geo. W. Colyar, and expert in his line, as an inspection of the Paramount will convince anyone.
“There is very little left of the old building. The entire front had been torn out and replaced with concrete and metal construction. A thirty-foot brick addition has been built on the rear. The front of the new theatre is as handsome as the interior, finished in white cement and artistically decorated with ornamental plaster in the shape of cornice, cartouches, and flower boxes. The lobby is entirely done in white and presents a particularly fine appearance from the street. The interior is a work of art. The general color scheme is old rose and silver, gray, and the ceiling is heavily beamed and panels. A heavy proscenium arch forms a handsome frame for the screen.”
Despite changes in the use of the building over the years, the murals lay hidden plaster and lathe. The Timms purchased the building during late 2021. During their extensive renovation in early in January 2022, their crew broke through a section of plaster wall, just to see what was behind the wall. To their surprise, the hole revealed a section of a painting. No one could have anticipated that the two paintings delivered by Deeds Scenic Studio were hidden behind the walls installed during Scate’s opening of the Paramount Theatre.
Despite bright colors, the murals were extremely damaged. There were hundreds of punctures from nails for furring strips and lathe, sporadic pockets of plaster that had oozed between lathe strips, cut openings for windows, and water stains from seasonal leaks, the paintings remained exceedingly vibrant and appeared in remarkably good shape.
Although I was swamped with work and had no intention of taking any out-of-state work , I began to contemplate the feasibility of a very, very, quick trip west to document the paintings before their removal. I immediately began to act as a resource for the young couple; they were being inundated with opinions regarding removal and restoration.
Over the course of the next two weeks, the Timms sent very detailed pictures of the two murals, and we began a series of discussions about possible options for removal, storage, and preservation. I did my best to educate them about the painting process and various options for removal, storage, repair, and restoration. We scheduled virtual meeting where they walked me through the space, closely examining how the attached to the wall. We were in luck, as the mural was glued to a few layers of wallpaper, meaning that it may easily pop off of the wall.
Various decorative layers tacked and pasted to the original wooden walls of the building offered a a walk thru time as the space was transferred from one owner to another. Initially, cotton sheeting was tacked onto the wooden walls, the only barrier to the outdoor elements.
A Delta Mills fine sheeting(right) stamp was discovered on this first layer of fabric. Only a layer of thin wallpaper covered the first layer of Delta sheeting (left).
This was likely to provide an air-barrier and uniform surface for the first layer of wallpaper. This first layer of wallpaper was off white with metallic edging.
A decorative border was pasted to the top of each section, somewhat ornate with metallic scrollwork paper atop a creamy background. A few years later, a new color scheme was introduced to the space, one that was much darker. A second layer of wallpaper and border paper were dark green with metallic accents in jeweled colors. The border paper was especially lovely and quite thick. When the building was renovated for a third time in 1915, the green wallpaper was primed white, and the fabric mural pasted on top.
In 1918 the venue changed hands, the building was renovated, and the theatre was renamed the Paramount. During the renovation plaster walls encapsulated the murals, effectively concealing them for over the next century. In the dark they patiently waited for another renovation; one that may possibly reveal the work of Deeds scenic artist W. C. Connell. would not happen until early January 2022.
I flew into Spokane, Washington, and examined the murals for the first time on February 16, 2022. The old Hub Theater in Okanogan is easy to miss. There is no a fly tower, no ornate façade; nothing to announce that it was once featured live theater or movies. The building looks more like an old hardware store than any temple of entertainment. If the Timms had not been standing outside, shouting, and waving their hands, I would have missed it entirely.
My plan was to only take pictures of the murals and leave with only memories. Upon entering the building my heart sank and I knew that there was very little time to save these murals. The relentless drip of water accentuated the dampness of the space. The drips both hit and missed a series of buckets lined up on the floor between the two murals. In previous conversations, the Timms had mentioned their concern of snow melt and a leaking roof. I had no idea it was this bad. I knew that it was just a matter of weeks before the distemper paintings were entirely destroyed.
That was when I began to game plan about their immediate removal. The preservation could happen slowly in phases, but there was minimal time to remove the murals from a leaking building.
I could not extend my stay, but I could return in a week. During my brief absence, the Timms frantically prepared the space for the upcoming mural removal. They cleared debris, removed walls, redirected water leaks, and ordered all of the necessary supplies.
On February 28, 2022, I returned to Okanogan and started work the next day. The first mural came down in two hours, the second in less than an hour. As I anticipated, the thick wallpaper backing was key to the murals’ quick release from the wall. Nick, Lisa, and their crew of four helped stabilize the painting as I carefully separated the wallpaper-backed mural from first layer of cotton sheeting that was tacked to the wooden substrate.
After the murals were removed from the wall, each received a preliminary cleaning, and then was rolled, encapsulated, and transferred to a climate-controlled storage room.
The last sections of each mural were completely unsalvageable. This reducing the overall length of each mural to 50-feet. However, many of the unsalvageable scraps were carefully packed in my luggage.
For the next four months, I began the laborious task of identifying the best method to remove layers of wallpaper from the fragile fabric without damaging the distemper painting. In the end, I was able to lightly mist the paper backing, wait twenty-minutes, and carefully peel the paper off, without damaging the paint.
The first phase of the Okanogan Mural Preservation included wallpaper removal, cleaning, fabric repair, fabric reinforcement, paint consolidation, and preparation for hanging. The work was planned for the first two weeks of August. We ordered materials, located a workspace, and identified local assistants. As the project neared, I watched temperatures soar to 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius). This is an area where many homes do not have any type of air-cooling systems. Despite the newly purchased swamp cooler for the Arts and Crafts Building on the fairgrounds, interior temperatures could not reach an acceptable level for art preservation.
We delayed the project until the beginning of October, hoping that the temperatures would drop to an acceptable level in fall. Yet as the project neared, I noticed that temperatures were still in the mid-80s. Crossing my fingers, I hoped for the best. Little did I know that we would have to buy heaters for the end of the project.
On October 7, 2022, I journeyed from Minneapolis to Okanogan. Flying into Spokane, I rented a car and drove the three hours west to the eastern slope of the Cascades
It is a lovely drive in the fall. This time I passed endless miles of harvested fields before entering the Okanogan Valley with acres of apple trees.
I arrived in Okanogan as sunset approached and soon settled into my new abode. My lodging was at the Timm’s estate, in a separate house once owned by Nick’s late father. With many of the windows facing east, the view was quite stunning with fall colors just starting to peak.
On Saturday, October 8, Nick Timm and I began to set up my workspace in the Arts and Crafts Building of the Okanogan Fair Grounds. This was not an unfamiliar space, as I had approved the location during my February visit. It was a massive building, with two sets of sinks, counter tops, fantastic lighting, ample electrical outlets, and nearby restrooms. Little did we know that by October the Okanogan fairgrounds would be in the midst of water and sewage troubles. The greatest challenge on Day 1 was access to the building and running water. The fairground’s entrance gates and bathrooms were locked as it was a weekend. This meant crawling over a 4-ft. gate to get into the grounds. Fortunately for me, there were two satellite bathrooms near the railroad tracks and a potable sink to wash my hands.
Less than ideal, it was the lack of running water that concerned me the most.
The building had housed arts and crafts projects during the county fair in September. This mean that there was dirt, flower pollen, and bits of trash all over the place. I needed a clean environment to ensure that dust and debris would not become airborne when I later turned on the box fans. By the end of the day, most of the supplies were unpacked and the murals were ready for the work to begin.
On October 9, I began the slow and arduous process of wallpaper removal from the back of each mural. It had taken me most of the spring and early summer to come up with a process to remove the paper without damaging the distemper painting. Keep in mind that distemper paint reactivates with water; it is just dry pigment paste mixed with diluted hide glue. I came up with a technique where I misted the paper with distilled water to soften the wallpaper adhesive, effectively releasing it from the painting. In Minnesota, it took a minimum of twenty minutes for the water to penetrate the adhesive, releasing it from the fabric.
What I did not anticipate was varying humidity levels in Okanogan. Although, the process remained very successful, it took a bit longer the first day. However, just like my experiments at home, the fabric easily released in big sections, and I was able to complete half of the first mural by the end of the day. Right on schedule, it would take a full four days to remove the wallpaper before starting the preservation of the fabric.
My second day of wallpaper removal was a bit of surprise. That night, the winds picked up and dried everything out. Temperatures dropped and everything began to dry out. This is the type of air where your lips immediately chap, and your skin begins to feel stretched. My wallpaper removal technique was no longer working; the water began to evaporate from the paper before it had a chance to permeate the adhesive. I began to experiment with a series of techniques, refining my process where the wallpaper could easily lift off. Picking at the paper or attempting to remove it when dry caused the paint to immediately release and dust off of the surface; it was too thin. I was already doing a balancing act, dampening the fabric without releasing the distemper paint.
On the third day of wallpaper removal, two assistants now helped carefully peel the paper away. One was my full-time onsite assistant Marty Staggs and the other was mural owner Nick Timm. As Timm observed, it was very similar to skinning an animal hide. The trick was knowing when to move on and not stay if paper was stuck on a dry patch; the paper remained stuck in areas where the water failed to permeate the first layer of glue and white primer. I kept repeating, “If it doesn’t come off easy, move along to another section.” We finished removing approximately 95% of all wallpaper.
On the final day of my first week, we cleaned the space and flipped the murals (painted side up). This was to assess their condition before continuing with the preservation next week. Each painting had held up beautifully during the wallpaper removal.
A fresh layer of muslin was placed below the murals. After cleaning each painted composition, we again cleaned the room to prevent any environmental dust from becoming airborne for the rest of the restoration.
By the end of the day, we secured the edges of each mural, and I gradually dampened the fabric with distilled water, so that any residual creasing or stiffness from the wallpaper adhesive would release. This would help with the upcoming fabric stabilization and patching.
The fabric repair began with patching small holes and continued to muslin backing for large cut openings (previous window openings and of access holes). This coincided with the temperature plummeting to 39 degrees Fahrenheit (3.9 degrees Celsius). As the inside the building was only a few degrees warmer, it was too cold to consolidate paint or patch fabric. So, we had to go out and purchase four large heaters. The irony of postposing this work due to heat was not lost on me. The new heaters, combined with warmer air temperatures during the day, meant that the building was finally warm enough to continue with the preservation.
After patching each drop, I attached the top hanging strip and reinforced both the sides and bottoms of each mural.
The final workday, October 21, was the hardest day of all; it was a firm deadline. All of the patching and support strips needed to be done by the end of the day if we were to hang them the next day. Nothing could be glued the next day, as they had to be completely dry prior to rolling and storing. I managed to make the deadline, but my body was a little worse for wear.
Saturday, October 22, was my last day on site. I was assisted by Staggs and the Timms. We spent the morning hanging and photographing details. The afternoon was spent preparing murals for storage again. This meant rolling each mural and encapsulating them in plastic.
I drove back to the Spokane airport on the morning of Sunday, Oct. 23. The drive was absolutely stunning. It gave me some time to reflect on the project and the next steps. I was also taking photographs; source material for my easel art this winter.
As I flew home to Minneapolis, I could not help but reflect on the rarity of these two murals. I kept thinking back to my own research and post about Deeds. Here is the link to just one of my posts about this intriguing man: https://drypigment.net2022/03/07/travels-of-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-j-m-deeds/
On May 29, 1913, the “Spokane Chronicle” heralded Deed’s scenic enterprise, including a picture of work being done in his studio. The article reported:
“This is the only studio of its kind between Minneapolis and the Coast,” said Mr. Deeds today. “We are prepared to cover the territory completely, including states of Wyoming, Utah, and the western Canadian provinces, and we expect to invade the east. There is no reason why we should not do this since we are prepared to complete with them in workmanship as well as salesmanship.” Mr. Deeds has been engaged in the production of scenery for 10 years and during this time has traveled extensively, visiting the leading studios in the east and middle west.”
The two Okanogan murals may be all that remains of the Deeds Scenic Studio. Theaters were repainted, renovated, and razed. It is not enough that an artifact survives. There must be stewards to take care of it. It is extremely fortunate that the Okanogan murals were found by the Timms and that they acted immediately. The Timms continue to raise funds for the second phase of preservation that will focus on areas of paint loss. If you able to support the preservation of these murals, please visit the Timm’s Go Fund Me site:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/115-year-old-hidden-mural-preservation
Here is the time-lapse video of the project that I posted to YouTube On Nov. 6, 2022.
