The Coca-Cola Mural

In the alley behind 530 4th Street, a green-framed panel holds one of the classics of American advertising: Drink Coca-Cola, All the Year ‘Round. Delicious and refreshing. A dark-haired woman raises a glass with the script logo on it, smiling out of the 1920s at whoever cuts through the alley.

Reading the sign

“All the Year ‘Round” was Coca-Cola’s pitch to make a summer drink a winter one, and the girl-with-a-glass artwork belongs to the brand’s flapper-era campaigns. Signs like this were everywhere once; the ones that survive are the ones that got lucky with their wall. This one got lucky twice: it survived, and then the town decided it was worth keeping.

When this sign first went up in Algoma, and whether today’s panel carries original paint or earlier repaintings underneath, is not yet in our record. If you know the sign’s history, or the history of the building it hangs on, tell us.

Stewardship

Yonder restored the sign in late May 2024, in collaboration with ArtBeet Kewaunee and David Carpenter. The restoration was paid for by Algoma’s Community Development Committee, with the Coca-Cola Company itself chipping in, along with community donors. A century-old brand, a town committee, and neighbors splitting the bill to keep an advertisement, because after enough winters an ad stops selling soda and starts holding history.

Sources

• Yonder Art Land project records (the 2024 restoration)
• Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce, Mural Trail Map, July 2025 (the sign in the town’s current inventory)