Mural Hilda Ogden ' s mural is one of the best - known set features ever to appear in " Coronation Street " , not just due to its archetypal tastelessness but also Hilda ' s own frequently quoted malapropism of referring to the picture as her " Muriel " ( although , in truth , the term was first coined by the Ogdens ' future lodger Eddie Yeats ) . In July 1976 Hilda decided that she wanted her downstairs back room decorated . Eddie , trying to get into Hilda ' s good books and be taken on as a lodger , offered to obtain some cheap wallpaper for her and Stan . However , on pasting these onto the walls they discovered that several of the rolls were badly faded and they were unable to obtain any replacements - with one of the three walls yet to be finished . Eddie placated a furious Hilda by obtaining several strips of paper that , put together , formed a large picture of a mountain vista . Hilda was thrilled with the " Muriel " ; but she and Stan could never decide what the mountain range was - Stan thought it was the Canadian Rockies whereas Hilda thought it was the Alps . Hilda bragged about her new decorative feature , but the neighbours had diametrically opposite ( but diplomatically hidden ) views . In March 1977 the mural was damaged when Suzie Birchall attempted to clean Elsie Tanner ' s chimney cheaply by dropping a brick down the flue . Unfortunately she chose the wrong chimney pot and the brick dropped into the Ogdens ' , house , covering Stan , Hilda , the room and the mural in black soot . The mountain vista continued to have a fog of dark clouds covering it for another eighteen months until August 1978 , when Hilda discovered that she and Stan paid the same amount of water rates as Elsie Tanner , living singly , next door and she insisted Stan have more baths in order to get their full money ' s worth . A very reluctant Stan fell asleep in the bath with the taps on and the water flowed downstairs covering the mural and creating an effect of river deep , mountain soggy . Tearing the paper when she attempted to repair it , Hilda was inconsolable over her lost work of art . To make up for the ruined mural , Stan got hold of another scene . This time it was a cliffside seascape and Hilda forgave Stan . At one point Hilda put up on the mural three flying ducks that used to be on Elsie Tanner ' s wall , although the middle duck seemed to have a navigational problem and was permanently pointing downwards away from its two companions . The " Muriel " escaped further damage during Hilda ' s remaining time at No . 13 and although she was unable to take her beloved vista with her when she moved out of the street in December 1987 , she was able to take the ducks , telling a somewhat sceptical Percy Sugden that " I ' ve come in here more times than I care to remember , cold , wet , bone - tired , not a penny in me purse . And seeing them ducks and that muriel . . . well they ' ve kept me hand away from gas tap , and that ' s a fact . " When Kevin and Sally Webster bought No . 13 from Hilda , the couple made many changes to the house ; one of these was to paper over the mural . Its existence was briefly revealed again in November 2002 when decorator Alex Jordan carried out work for the Websters however within a few days he had stripped the picture off the wall forever . In real life , the Ogdens ' living room set , with the second version of the " Muriel " and the flying ducks , was a permanently erected set on the Granada Studios tour when it opened up in 1988 .