Now that the Sherwin-Williams Co. has reassured Clevelanders that the current Nike LeBron James banner will remain on its building during the Republican National Convention and beyond, here's a look back at the other larger-than-life images that have graced the paint company's wall.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Now that the Sherwin-Williams Co. has confirmed and reassured Clevelanders that the current Nike LeBron James banner will stay on its building during the Republican National Convention and beyond, here's a look back at the other larger-than-life images that have graced the paint company's wall.
Fan outcry against the company's plans to replace James' banner with a red-, white-and-blue welcome to the RNC, a gesture that was also supposed to mark the company's 150th anniversary in Cleveland, prompted a change of heart at Sherwin-Williams.
The company announced that it would instead mark its anniversary with a $150,000 donation to the LeBron James Family Foundation for scholarships and other educational programs for children.
Here's a timeline of the banners that have hung on Sherwin-Williams' wall:
1. Once upon a time, according to former Chief Executive now Executive Chairman Chris Connor, Sherwin-Williams asked Cleveland City Hall for permission to hang a promotional banner from the unattractive blank wall of its global headquarters. The Mayor's office told the company: "Absolutely not. No way. Don't even think about it."
2. When Nike, however, asked the City of Cleveland about hanging a gigantic photo of then-21-year-old James dunking a basketball on that very wall, with the tagline "We Are All Witnesses," it got a green light on the spot.
The first LeBron James banner went up on Sherwin-Williams' wall on Nov. 8, 2005.
3. Oct. 26, 2007: Nike's second dramatic LeBron James banner showed him with arms outstretched beneath a cloud of chalk dust, with the same tagline, "We Are All Witnesses." This was the image shown on national television after LeBron James announced live "The Decision" to leave Northeast Ohio for the Miami Heat.
4. July 8, 2010: On the night of James' "Decision" to leave the Cavaliers to take his talents to South Beach -- and to the Miami Heat, when disgruntled fans started hurling rocks at the banner and trying to climb the fence to get at his banner, Connor called Nike and was told: "We know. Nobody wants that banner down more than we do."
When Connor called the city to ask about replacing it with a Sherwin-Williams' banner paying homage to Cleveland, city officials quickly agreed, asking: "How fast can you get it up?"
5. July 11, 2010: Hundreds of onlookers honked, hooted and snapped photographs as workers dismantled James' banner at the corner of Huron and Ontario.
6. Oct. 27, 2010: Exactly 108 days after "The Decision," Sherwin-Williams replaced James' banner with a massive black-and-white image of Cleveland's skyline, bearing the tagline: "Our Home Since 1866. Our Pride Forever."
Connor said everyone hustled to get it installed, so that national TV commentators wouldn't "trash our city by showing an empty wall where there used to be LeBron. We were literally taking the ladders away on the day of the [Cavaliers'] home opener."
7. May 17, 2013: Sherwin-Williams Co. unveiled its colorful new banner on the side of its global headquarters, a bold blue collage entitled "Our Vibrant Home Town." Designed by artist George Vlosich III, it featured 17 landmarks, from the Terminal Tower and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to Lolly the Trolley and the Goodtime III.
8. Oct. 23, 2014: After LeBron James announces he's coming home on July 11, 2014, prompting citywide hysteria and rekindling hopes of an NBA championship, workers dismantled "Our Vibrant Home Town," to make way for a new LeBron James banner.
9. Oct. 30, 2014: Crews install Nike's new LeBron James banner on the exterior of Sherwin-Williams' global headquarters. The 10-story tall, 1.3-ton, 25,000-square-foot banner required 190 gallons of ink in four colors.
10. June 21, 2016: Sherwin-Williams scrapped plans to replace Nike's LeBron James banner with this patriotic proclamation that "This Land is Our Land" -- intended to both welcome the RNC and mark the paint company's 150th birthday in Cleveland.
11. June 22: LeBron James, MVP of the NBA Finals, rides a Rolls Royce convertible through an estimated 1.3 million fans during Cleveland's victory parade -- and past his larger-than-life banner on Sherwin-Williams' headquarters -- accompanied by his elder son, LeBron Jr., and his wife, Savannah. Their other children, son Bryce and daughter, Zhuri, were also in the car, but can't be seen in this photo.