More and more downtowns seem to be appreciating the visual and historic significance of not painting over advertisements on exterior brick walls. As with everything else in the world, these type of advertisements are a draw for certain individuals and adds to the experience of the general public visiting your downtown.
If you have similar examples in your downtown, do what you can to preserve them, instead of having property owners paint over them. A freshly painted white wall will likely attract graffiti and not be near as interesting as the historic advertisements.
This example is from downtown Beloit, Wisconsin...
