For the past few years, a local real estate agent and long time resident of Danville, Neal Gordon, had been telling us that his brother, John Randolph Gordon, had painted a large mural on the walls of the Toy Box room.  His story of the mural had always intrigued us, but we just never could find evidence of it.  We just assumed it had been papered and painted over so often it had been lost.

     During the recent demolition of the connecting wall between the 312 and 314 buildings, traces of what appeared to be a painting were uncovered.  Using a small paint scraper and a solution of Downy Fabric Softener and hot water, a five foot by five foot section of a horse race was revealed.  Unfortunately, during the 1960's a beam ceiling had been added and the anchor board had been installed over the top of the mural and then the walls above the anchor board had been painted with black oil based paint.  This alteration covered about 8 inches of the painting including the tops of the heads of horses and jockeys.  Further damage to the wall had been caused by the installation of support pegs and a thermostat. 

     After additional discussion with the artist's brother, it was decided to attempt to restore the mural on the opposite wall where the anchor board for the beams had been installed several inches higher on the wall thus creating a sloped ceiling effect.

     The result of many hours of work is a completely restored mural of horses on a farm.  The painting is approximately 35 feet long and 5 feet high.  Close to the end of the process the artist's signature and completion date were found among the blades of grass - John Gordon 1956.

     As the complete restoration project of the Toy Box continues, we are so proud of the bits of history of this community which have been brought to life in a building which has been so much a part of Danville and the Arnold and Becker families.  The work is visible through the front windows from the street and visitors enjoy the unique story and appreciate the art on historic Main Street.

     (Photograph of John Randolph Gordon from American Artist Magazine, 1980.)