Manhattan Square Park Mural Erased

original article here: http://www.rochestersubway.com/topics/2013/05/manhattan-square-park-mural-erased/

I haven’t been able to find anyone who knows exactly when this mural was painted, but it’s been a fixture in Manhattan Square Park for at least 30 years, says Charles Moreland, Executive Director of Rochester Parkour . The outdoor venue has been mostly abandoned for the past 10 years, but its concrete walls and irregular geometry make it ideal for practicing the fine art of Parkour. Charles’ group can often be found moving throughout the park. Yesterday Charles noticed the mural had been covered with a fresh coat of gray paint…

The mural (when it was still there) was a depiction of the history of Rochester – from the days of the Iroquois, to Frederick Douglass, George Eastman, and Kodak technology aboard satellites in space. But now, like a giant Etch A Sketch, it’s completely gray.

John Picone is the City’s Park Superintendent. In a phone conversation he explained to me that the park is in between phases of a makeover. The nearby ice rink and lodge (a former restaurant) underwent a renovation and were reopened this winter. But the mural was in rough shape.

With events such as the Fringe Festival and Roc Pride Festival scheduled to take place in the park, and with the new lodge available for the public to rent, John says the peeling paint and other graffiti in the park had to be cleaned up.

But Charles disagrees, “That mural has been there longer than I’ve been alive, and in the last 30 years that wall HAS NEVER BEEN TAGGED. Not once. Every other wall in MSP gets ‘fuck’ or ‘I was here’ or whatever other tags… but no one has ever touched the mural.”

Charles says he’d like to see something happen with the wall. “It does Manhattan Square Park a disservice to repaint the artwork grey. They complained about no one going to the park before, but now I can’t imagine anyone going there just to stare at grey walls.”

As it turns out, Luis Burgos, Commissioner of Recreation and Youth Services would like to see a new mural painted here. He has already reached out to Dr. Ian Wilson of WALL\THERAPY who would be happy to give the wall some ‘therapy’. “Manhattan Square Park would be a most ideal location for a WALL\THERAPY mural! We (myself and WALL\THERAPY team) would love the opportunity to be a part of the conversation regarding that wall space,” says Ian.

My personal opinion… let’s get something back on this wall. BUT, in the future, please consult the artist, or the people of Rochester, before public art is destroyed.