Old Pepsi Cola Billboard Winnipeg | Wall Art

Vintage Pepsi-Cola Billboard in Winnipeg - Wall Art

In Winnipeg, heritage lives not only in its grand buildings and cultural landmarks but also in the faded murals and ghost signs that quietly linger on the city’s brick walls. This vintage Pepsi-Cola advertisement, painted decades ago and still visible today, is one such relic of Winnipeg’s history. When I first came across it, the mural stopped me in my tracks—not for its bright colours or commercial appeal, but for the way it embodies the spirit of a city that honours its past while continuing to grow and change.

Winnipeg is a place where layers of history sit side by side. You’ll find Beaux-Arts architecture downtown, Art Deco treasures, turn-of-the-century warehouses, and signs like this one—all woven into the city’s urban fabric. This Pepsi billboard, though weathered and peeling, remains a marker of its time. Once a proud advertisement for a soft drink, it has become something else entirely: a symbol of resilience and continuity, a reminder that even the most ordinary walls can hold extraordinary stories.

For me, photographing this mural was about more than documenting a ghost sign. It was about preserving Winnipeg’s heritage in visual form. Every crack in the paint, every brick showing through, tells us about the decades of snow, wind, and sun that have shaped it. Stripped of colour in black and white, the mural reveals its texture, its grit, and its relationship to the surrounding architecture. It becomes part of a larger narrative of the city—one that values both its polished landmarks and its humble survivors.

What I love about Winnipeg is its ability to embrace these contrasts. The city’s heritage isn’t confined to museums or carefully curated districts; it spills onto the streets, where history whispers from every faded mural. This photograph is my way of holding onto that authenticity, of celebrating the details that might otherwise vanish unnoticed.

As with all my work, this is real photography—captured on location, not staged or recreated. What you see is exactly what stood there when I raised my camera. I believe art should reflect truth, and in this case, the truth of Winnipeg’s character is etched into the bricks of this mural.

If you’re drawn to Winnipeg’s story, you might enjoy exploring more of my Photos of Winnipeg Manitoba, where city heritage takes many forms—from murals and storefronts to iconic architecture. You can also find related images in my Wall Art Mural Collection, where I gather these hand-painted pieces of history into a visual record worth keeping alive.

© Dan Kosmayer, 2021