New ECU Pirates mural in downtown Greenville draws fans

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - A new mural in downtown Greenville is arrrggggguably the highlight of the area right now.

The pirate ship mural came to life with ECU collaborating with the city of Greenville and Pitt County Arts Council.

ECU says the mural was developed with certain hopes in mind.

Jeannine Hutson, the ECU chief communications officer says, “We’re hoping that prospective students, alumni coming back for the weekend will stop by and have their photo taken. it’s designed to be interactive with social media.”

The mural is doing just that. Attracting many people passing by, young and old.

Lauren Donnelly, an ECU student told WITN, “Well, I just thought it was really pretty. I saw it earlier today and I didn’t realize that it was there before. I really like the no quarter flag. It’s my favorite. It just stands out.”

It is not just the beauty of the mural that grabs people’s attention.

Anthony Schmidt, the president of Greenville-Pitt County convention shared, “I think it’s awesome. The size obviously catches your eye and it’s great to have this type of mural at the gateway to downtown East Carolina University.”

The painting was selected through a contest among ECU’s creative service designers.

The winning idea came to fruition by an ECU graduate, Ashely Cox, with the theme “undaunted,” portrayed through the pirate ship bursting through the brick wall.

Hutson says if you decide to share pictures with the mural on social media, use the hashtag #ECUPIRATES so that the university can share them on their social media accounts as well.

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