Historic Southwest Mural Painting 2010

After days of rain, RNeighbors and volunteers from the Historic Southwest neighborhood could not have been happier to see the sun shining on the morning of June 16.  With all of our ducks (and paintbrushes) in a row and weather finally permitting, the re-painting of the Historical Southwest Funky Flower mural at 7th Street SW and 7th Avenue SW was a colorful success.

Participation was excellent with over 75 neighbors and other assorted community members joining in on the fun.  Little bare feet pitter-pattered through the mural with 24 four-year-olds from the Civic League Day Nursery. Local Boy Scouts also showed up to lay out a few layers of paint and help us with the brush washing.  We even had visitors from the Ukraine who although they spoke no English, enjoyed the community project.

The Funky Flower mural was designed by Greg Wimmer and first painted in August of 2008.  Each year the mural is repainted with street paint, in an effort to continue building relationships between neighbors.

This year’s re-paint of the Historic Southwest Mural was a success because of the neighborhly help we received.

• Jane Townsend and her team of Historic Southwest neighbors, who power washed the painted area the night before the paint date.
• Bryce, the head of maintenance at the Edison building, for allowing us access to an appropriate drain to get rid of the water used for washing brushes. Painty water should not be dumped down storm drains but an inside drain that goes to the water treatment plant, not the river.
• SMIF and Valspar who donated 100 gallons of Valspar street paint.
• Greg Wimmer, our artist extraordinaire, who continues to patiently guide our mural painting process.
• Panara for donating bread to fill our tummies in the early morning.
• Neighborhood favorite restaurant Twigs for bringing us yummy red, white, and blue cookies half way through our project.
• Safety Signs provide the barricades that are required by the City ordinance for blocking off the street.
• Public Works guys who help clean the pavement with the large street sweeper and deliver these very heavy and cumbersome signs. They make it look easy!
• The City Traffic Engineer serves on the RColorful Corners committee and gives advice on mural locations and processes
• Last but not least, Cassie, our RColorful Corners Chair, for all of her hard work in leading the organization for the street mural paintings.

You can see colorful photos from this mural painting at RNeighbors on Facebook.

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