Legends of silent film come alive in a can't-miss mural on the rear exterior wall of the Elsinore Theatre.

Theda Bara and her enigmatic blue eyes gaze boldly at passersby. Charlie Chaplin, with canine co-star Scraps, bashfully looks away. A scowling W.C. Fields juggles while magically appearing across the wall from his body. And a diminutive Marlene Dietrich poses saucily on a box in the center.

The 68-foot-tall painting has been a beacon to Salem's downtown area since 1984, originally designed and painted by the late James "Jim" Mattingly, a longtime art professor at Western Oregon University.

The mural, titled "Theatrical Heartscape," faces east overlooking a parking lot with a drive-through ATM and the Ferry Street entrance to downtown, its vibrant colors exposed and vulnerable to the elements. It was repainted by Portland-based artist Dan Cohen in 2013 and sealed with a UV protectant but already needs a fresh coat.

"There are things that can be done to prolong the freshness of a mural, but just because of the nature of paint and how it interacts with weather, it degrades over time," Cohen said. "That wall just gets blasted with sunlight, and sunlight is one of the major reasons why paint degrades and colors fade."

Most noticeably faded are the oranges, reds and yellows. Less impacted are the blues and blacks, although still not nearly as vivid as the day Mattingly finished the mural or the day Cohen completed the restoration.

The Friends of the Mattingly Mural, a local group of artists and activists passionate about preserving public art, raised money the first time and is at it again. It has $24,500 and needs another $12,500 by the first week of July.

The funds raised so far include a $10,000 anonymous donation, $5,000 left in a maintenance fund from the last restoration, and a small grant.

The hope is for work to begin in early August. The mural needs to be repaired and cleaned before Cohen can paint. The good news is the damage is minimal compared to the last time he climbed onto the swing-stage scaffolding and faced the 4,400-square-foot concrete canvas.

"We don't want to let it go and get to the point where it's a gigantic eyesore in the middle of downtown again," said Eileen Cotter Howell, one of the project organizers.

The Mid-Valley Arts Council commissioned Mattingly to transform the bare back wall of the Elsinore into a celebration of the theater's vaudeville and early film history.

In 1984, a decade before the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places, the Elsinore was just a movie theater. "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Ghostbusters" were among the summer lineup that year.

Mattingly, the head of the Western Oregon art department, spent about six months planning and preparing for Salem's first large-scale mural. An elementary school permitted him to use its gym floor to sketch his concept on butcher paper.

He transferred the design onto the wall using a grid system and spent most of the summer painting the mural, which took 50 gallons of paint and 400 hours to complete, according to Statesman Journal archives. Mattingly used special acrylic-based paint, followed by what he called an "anti-graffiti" clear acrylic sealer.

His design featured four iconic actors who starred in vaudeville, silent movies, then talking films. They were prominent at the time the Elsinore was built in 1926.

Bara is Cleopatra, her head and shoulders looming largest. Dietrich is in the middle of the composition in a pose from "The Blue Angel," perched on what was a ventilator shaft.

Chaplin is on a box that has a large heart coming out of it. The heart motif was something Mattingly had used in his painting in recent years, simply a design with no message. The division of Fields' body was an effort at "pushing your own perception," he told the Statesman Journal.

The $30,000 project was made possible through money raised from the Oregon Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Salem Streetscape and private contributions. The mural dedication was on Sept. 21, 1984.

The colors began to fade as time passed, and the building continued to age. With each decade, the light dimmed in each of the four larger-than-life legends featured on the mural.

The same community members behind saving the Elsinore spearheaded the restoration. Just a few years before, as the theater had fallen into neglect and was doing lackluster business as a second-run movie house, there were plans to demolish it and make room for a parking lot.

They raised money to restore the historic building and turn it into a performing arts venue. Work on restoring the marquee would begin the following year, long after the paint had cured on Mattingly's masterpiece on the other side of the building.

His wife recalled during a CCTV special about the 2013 restoration how every time they drove by the mural, he mourned its natural erosion and the need for repainting.

Mattingly didn't live to see it. He died in 2006.

Prep work for the first restoration took time. Three decades of grime had to be power washed off the surface, and then a giant spiderweb of cracks patched and primed.

Cohen used oil-based enamel paint, the kind used on signs that would last longer than normal exterior house paint.

He masterfully recreated Mattingly's design, given license in areas where it was beyond faded to paint as he saw fit. The ventilator shaft where Dietrich is perched, for example, was no longer on the building. He had to paint one.

The mural again was covered with a clear-coat for added protection. The project cost around $21,000.

Donnie Mattingly, Jim's widow, was thrilled with Cohen's interpretation. She does not live in Salem and isn't as involved this time.

Organizers had debated whether to hire Cohen to spot-paint the mural or do the entire thing. The cost difference is relatively minimal. They figure doing it all now will save them from needing to spot-paint the rest in another decade.

The good news is there are new and better paint options on the market. Cohen has researched archival paint options.

This time, he will use Nova Color, a professional-grade line of acrylic paint with good resistance to light, humidity and atmospheric pollution. Like last time, he will match each color by eye, which comes as second nature in his line of work.

Cohen is a classically trained painter, sculptor and muralist. His work has been shown worldwide at galleries and events and on many buildings and walls. He has done large-scale advertisement murals for companies such as Disney and Warner Bros., including movie posters of "The Hobbit" and "The Dark Knight Rises."

Howell said the group is thrilled Cohen is available to do a second restoration. Cohen sounds thrilled, too.

"Working on things that are historic and part of the community give me a lot of pride," he said. "It's an honor to put something out in the community that everybody gets to enjoy for generations."

Although Cohen has yet to sign a contract, he anticipates it will take about 10 days to repaint the entire mural. He's marked two weeks in August on his calendar to account for days when it may rain or, more likely, be too hot to paint. His target start date is Aug. 8.

Pioneer Waterproofing Company will do the prep work. The Tigard-based company has been working at the Oregon State Capitol in recent months.

If you wish to support the project, visit the donation page, or send a check to Friends of the Mattingly Mural:

FOMM, c/o Elsinore Theatre, 170 High St. SE, Salem, OR 97301

Capi Lynn is the Statesman Journal's news columnist. Her column taps into the heart of this community — its people, history and issues. Contact her at clynn@StatesmanJournal.com or 503-399-6710, or follow her on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.