Western Specialty Contractors’ Minneapolis branch has breathed new life into a brick wall and its painted mural on the historic DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace Building in Duluth, Minnesota.
Located at 394 S Lake Ave. in the heart of the Canal Park neighborhood, the eight-story commercial building was constructed in 1909 for the DeWitt-Seitz Company, a furniture wholesaler and mattress manufacturer. The building became the DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace in May 1985, a mixed-use commercial building with shops and restaurants on the lower floors and office spaces above. A large mural advertising the marketplace is painted on the building’s north wall.
To commemorate the marketplace’s 40th anniversary in May 2025, Western Specialty Contractors was hired to perform masonry repairs on the building’s brick façade, including brick replacement, repointing, soffit repainting, and the application of a specialized masonry coating to control brick deterioration on the previously painted north façade. Re-coating of the north façade then necessitated replicating its iconic mural, last repainted in 2006.
Western’s restoration experts contracted with a professional artist in July 2025 to replicate the mural, which features the building’s name (DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace) in yellow lettering and a diamond-shaped frame surrounding a pair of Lady Slippers, the state flower of Minnesota. The entire north wall of the building behind the mural was painted forest green.
Western’s experts used the rooftop of an adjacent building to access the brick wall, along with a boom lift from the street, and suspended scaffolding from the building’s roof to complete the masonry repairs and painting.
Crews were able to schedule their work around the busy tourist area, which hosted several events during construction. Western completed the project on time in September 2025 and within budget, to the owner’s satisfaction. LHB was the Engineer/Architect for the project, and Oneida Commercial Real Estate manages the property for the building’s owner.
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About Western Specialty Contractors
Family-owned and operated for more than 100 years, Western Specialty Contractors is the nation’s largest specialty contractor in masonry and concrete restoration, waterproofing, and specialty roofing. Western offers a nationwide network of expertise that building owners, engineers, architects, and property managers can count on to develop cost-effective, corrective measures that can add years of useful life to a variety of structures, including industrial, commercial, healthcare, historic, educational and government buildings, parking structures, and sports stadiums. Western is headquartered in St. Louis, MO, with 30 branch offices nationwide and employs more than 1,200 salaried and hourly professionals who offer the best, time-tested techniques and innovative technology. For more information about Western Specialty Contractors, visit https://westernspecialtycontractors.com.