A ‘blah’ second-story wall in downtown Napa now radiates vineyard color

There’s something new to feast your eyes on if you happen to be having dinner or drinks on the roof of Archer Napa hotel or staying in an east-facing guest room.

But if you’re a walker or motorist downtown, you’ll have to crane your neck to glimpse a section of the 70-foot mural that artist Morgan Bricca has painted on a the west-facing second story of the Beckstoffer Building at First and Coombs streets.

Bricca created a glowing scene of a Napa Valley vineyard showing the first signs of autumn color amid charming farming buildings.

It adorns what Andy Beckstoffer, owner of the Beckstoffer Building, described as a “blah” wall in need of improvement for those who look down on it or across from it from the Archer hotel. The mural depicts elements of the Beckstoffer Farm in the Upvalley.

“I wanted to do something in the realm of public art that the community can be proud of,” Beckstoffer said in a news release. “Morgan is an incredibly talented artist who brought the fall scene to life in this project after multiple visits to the farm.

“This mural will live on for decades to come, and I’m pleased that Napa residents and visitors can enjoy the beautification of this blank building wall.”

The mural features five farm structures and a woodblock-style imprint of the Beckstoffer Vineyards seal.

Bricca’s mural adorns a building on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1905, it was occupied by the Napa Valley Register until 1965 when it was converted to a downstairs restaurant with offices above. Today, it is occupied Overland Sheepskin Co. and Brown Estate.

Bricca has been painting murals professionally for 17 years. Since becoming a full-time mural artist in 2000, Bricca has painted more than 450 murals, including over 50 in the Bay Area and 17 abroad.

In 2016, she painted the mural, “Tuesday Morning, 1720” on the west wall of Shelton Cleaners, 1417 Second St., in downtown Napa. It portrays what Napa might have looked like 300 years ago before the arrival of the Europeans.

The Beckstoffer Building is affiliated with First Street Napa, a 325,000-square-foot mixed-use development in the heart of downtown that will encompass 45 retail shops and restaurants, new creative office space, and the 183-room Archer Hotel Napa.

Currently open are Archer Hotel Napa, Charlie Palmer Steak Napa, Overland Sheepskin Co., Compline wine bar + restaurant + merchant, Napa Valley Jewelers, Eiko’s Modern Japanese Cuisine, Lush, Brown Estate, Mecox, Silicon Valley Bank, Tommy Bahama, Kalifornia Jean Bar, Pacific Union International, and State & First.

Coming soon are Napastäk, Makers Market and lululemon athletica. For more information, visit www.firststreetnapa.com.