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MOUNT AIRY, N.C. –  This June 1st would of marked the late actor Andy Griffith’s 96th birthday. 

One of North Carolina’s favorite sons was born just outside of downtown and many believe the town inspired TV’s Mayberry.

The many faces of Andy now adorn the latest downtown mural completed in May by artist Jeks.

“It’s breathtaking, said Lizzy Morrison an artist herself and director of Downtown Mount Airy. “To achieve that level of hyperrealism with a spray can, it just really blows your mind.”

Morrison came up with the idea to paint the town with murals of the town’s natural beauty, Blues Legend Melba Houston and now Andy Griffith.

“It’s a valuable tool to tell the story of who we are,” she said. “The Andy mural does a good job of telling the story of Andy Griffith and relating it back to home.”

The city recently completed landscaping and new sidewalks in front of the mural for the many fans of the Andy Griffith show that visit the town each year and for the local who take pride in their All-American smalltown.   

“For a lot of people from here, Mayberry is more about small-town America than it is the show.”

You can find the mural on the corner of Moore and Renfro Street.