Hundreds of celebrators of Troy's Victorian Stroll on Sunday, December 2, were rewarded with a real surprise when they stopped in to view the interior lobby of the old Proctor's Theater on Fourth Street.

In preparation for the annual stroll, owners of the building were cleaning the lobby of the theater, but were surprised to find a large hand painted mural behind a false wall.

After removing debris, a stunning mural that runs 10 or more feet high at the entrance to the lobby reveal a painting of Helen of Troy holding up a modified coat of arms of Troy within a green wreath. Within are symbols of commerce: a sheaf of wheat, cask and crate with a sloop and mountains in the background with a rising sun. Under the wreath within a ribbon are the words Ilium Fuit, Troja Est.

Below Helen are two figures; a woman collar maker to the left and male iron worker to the right, each holding tools of their trade (collar and hammer).

Flanking the coat of arms are two seated women. The woman on the left has a cornucopia next to her foot while the woman on the right has a gear next to her.

Much of the mural depicts Troy's coat of arms and symbolism as an industrial giant of the 19th century.

The city's coat of arms was introduced when Troy incorporated in 1816. On June 11th, the common council created an official seal: "Resolved That the Seal now presented to this Board having as a Device engraved on it a Cask a Bale of Goods on a sheaf of Wheat a Vessel under Sail encircled with the word Troy City Corporation be & hereby is declared to be the Common Seal of the Mayor Recorder Aldermen & Commonalty of the City of Troy."

Between 1816-1916, a new coat of arms was created showing a shield with cask, bale and sheaf of wheat with boat in sail with the words Ilium Fuit, Troja Est., flanked by two seated women; the one on the right with a gear and anvil, and the one on the left with cornucopia. The background is a view of Troy buildings, a train, and river boats, which were symbols of commerce and industry.

In 1916, the seal was modified slightly from the previous one and adopted for Troy's centennial celebration. It states: "A shield, whereon shall be shown the emblem of commerce, i.e. Barrels and bales and a sheaf of wheat; the emblem of navigation, a Hudson River steamboat, behind which shall be the factories of Troy, backed by the hills, surmounted by the four spires. The crest shall be the emblem of the United States, the eagle. The supporters shall be: to the right, higher education for women, represented by a figure of an Emma Willard School graduate in cap and gown; to the left, a figure of a man, representing an engineer graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The motto, on a ribbon under the shield , shall read : Ilium fuit; Troja Est (Ilium was, Troy is.)."

Unfortunately, some of the mural is damaged. A heating grate was placed at the bottom of the mural and when removed a large square hole is evident. A small amount of orange paint was applied to part of the panel to the right, but stopped as though whoever began thought better of it, just missing the ironworker. A small puncture wound is in Helen's left eye.

The entire panel is painted on fabric and applied on the wall. The artist was probably David C. Lithgow. He also painted the interior scenes above the stage (Lafayette visiting Troy) and over the exit doors on the mezzanine. Lithgow, also a sculptor, was president of The Saint Andrew's Society of Albany. At Albany Rural Cemetery there is a memorial with a life-sized statue of St. Andrew by Lithgow. Some of his works can be seen locally. His painting "Beside the Still Waters" hangs in the Tebbut funeral Home in Albany. Portraits of SUNY Presidents John M. Sayles (1939-1947) and William Milne (1889-1914) are located on the second floor of the University Library. The NYS Museum has four thematic murals (each with three historical scenarios) that he did for the New York World's Fair in 1939. He also created the original Indian Dioramas in the old NYS Museum.

Proctor's opened to much fanfare on Monday, November 23, 1914 with continuous Vaudeville Acts that were "clever, clean, picturesque and novel" from 1PM to 10:45. It closed for good around 1977.

The fate of Proctor's and the newly discovered mural are now in the hands of Ali Yaghoubi, a New York City developer who is renovating the office part of the complex into high end hotel rooms.