Historic tower to get fresh look

The historic Purina Tower in downtown Fredericksburg will soon get a fresh-new look.

The tower, which is at 401 Charles Street near the train station, will be part of a project funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated to the City of Fredericksburg for tourism marketing. See the rendering included with this post for what the project will look like.

When the project is complete, the building will have a familiar look but with a few updates:

• “Welcome to Fredericksburg” will be painted on the four rectangular strips between the checkerboards. This will welcome the thousands of people arriving to Fredericksburg on the nearby train.
• The famous checkerboard and rectangular design will remain the same, but the colors will be flipped (the red-and-white checkerboards will become blue-and-white, and the blue rectangular strips will become red). This was done to avoid running afoul of any trademark issues.
• The cap at the top of the building will be painted white.
• The remainder of the building will not be painted.

Fredericksburg’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) will serve as the conduit for the project funds. The EDA unanimously approved this at a meeting Friday.

Garrett Green, whose business is Green Fitness and Wellness, owns the building. Green initially approached the EDA about the idea, which evolved over the past year.

The project work is expected to be finished by June 30.