Manhattan Square Park Mural Erased

This article was scraped from Rochester Subway. This is a blog about Rochester history and urbanism has not been published since 2017. The current owners are now publishing link spam which made me want to preserve this history.. The original article was published May 14, 2013 and can be found here.

   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.

On a Related Note,
   WALL\THERAPY Needs YOU...

   WALL\THERAPY is trying to raise $30,000 for their 2013 line-up. Please consider being a part of this very worth-while cause and     make a donation to the Indiegogo campaign

. There are only 17 days left!

The public is also invited to a WALL\THERAPY Party and Fundraiser tonight, 7-9pm at Cure (50 Public Market Way).     RSVP on Facebook

   - $15 suggested donation at the door
   - One drink + hor d'oeuvres
   - Cash bar available
   - Perks will be on display
   - Artists names will be released for this year's roster!
   - Music by DJ Chreath
   - Live Painting by local Wall Therapists.