Update: The brick mural was completely restored and lit dramatically at night in 2012.
I watched in sadness as the giant abstract brick mural came down brick by brick over the last two months. Unique, and so 1960’s in its composition, I saw it just about every day I passed through the intersection of Compton and Market.
But there’s good news; apparently it was only removed because it had no known method of adhesion to the wall behind it. It had already fell over the lower fifth of the wall, and the rest was doomed to fall off at some point as well. The underdrawing, which the masons used to make the mural, is now revealed for the first time since the 1960’s.
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Why is the reason for taking it down particularly good news? I find it hard to believe that whatever the reason for taking it down, the aesthetic concerns of restoring the mural will win out over the economics of white paint. Isn't that what happened to the other side?
Thanks for reporting, Chris.I didn't know the Modernist mural was slated for removal. Who designed the mural? I'd always assumed it was Siegfried Reinhardt.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not happy they had to take it down, but I received word from a source that the whole mural was in danger of falling off completely one day. Removal and restoration, which I hear is planned, will ensure it lasts for more time than its predecessor. With the underdrawing in place, it will make it feasible.
Reinhardt would make sense, with the swooping arcs and all.I'm reminded that his mural at the airport's gone, too, though apparently preserved. I haven't even been away two years yet and it feels like so much is missing already.