Vacant businesses on Main Avenue could transition from eyesores to story-telling tools under a plan to cover windows with vinyl decals of historic photos this summer.

The Design Review Board approved the idea presented by city staff this week and asked that the window decals include dates and historic information about the images, said Ariel Wishkovsky, the city’s business development coordinator.

The black and white window decals will be available free to interested property owners; they might depict skiing, mining, local Native American history and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, he said.

“I think it enhances the vitality and the vibe of the downtown corridor,” he said.

The decals cannot include advertising information.

The city plans to purchase the rights to use Animas City Museum photos, said Mary Beth Miles, assistant to the city manager.

The first decal could be up during June or July and they will be reused when possible as businesses open and close along the downtown corridor, he said.

Remodeling can be a messy process, and the artwork will provide an alternative to brown paper to help block ongoing construction from view.

The vacancy rate in downtown is about 4 percent, so the city plans to have only a few made.

“When one property is vacant, it seems a lot more prevalent then it actually is,” Wishkovsky said.

The city does not have a set budget for this pilot program because the staff was waiting for approval from the Design Review Board, Miles said.

mshinn @durangoherald.com