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news

Spotted: Painting Over Adelaide Street Mural

By Hamutal Dotan

SPOTTED BY: Daniel Reis
WHERE: 308 Adelaide Street West, at the corner of Adelaide and Widmer.
WHEN: Tuesday morning
WHAT: This large-scale mural dates back to 1986, when it was painted by artist Bill Wrigley with the financial support of the building’s owner. Writes Wrigley: “On August 12, 1986, the mural was celebrated in an open street party, unveiled to the City of Toronto by Mayor Art Eggleton. The ribbon cutting was witnessed by some 150 guests, curious onlookers, and the celebrated individuals depicted in the mural.”
Panic and Bob Editing is a post-production company located just across the street; yesterday one of their editors, Daniel Reis, noticed that the mural was being painted over. “We couldn’t believe it,” he tells us. “The mural was always a welcome respite from the noise and construction in the Entertainment District.” (Our attempts to ascertain why the mural is being painted over have so far been in vain.)

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Comments

  • drybrain

    That sucks. I love how dated the people in this mural look. A moment in time, no doubt.

  • tyrannosaurus_rek

    The War on Art continues.

    Did they stop at just blotting out the bottom?

  • HamutalDotan

    That's where they are at right now (this happened yesterday). Not clear yet  whether there's a forthcoming stage two.

  • http://www.facebook.com/AgentFoo Mark Foo

    I hope the answer is “assholes bought the building” and not “assholes moved into city hall”.

  • blearghhh

    Going by picture #2, I would guess the reason would be because the paint was peeling and flaking off rather horribly, which can happen pretty easily if you're not careful when painting on brick.  By the looks of it, the options would be either restore it somehow (very expensive) or paint over it and either leave it blank or do something new, either of which would require the gray paint that they've put there.

    That would also explain why they only did the bottom: because the top doesn't look quite as crappy.

  • bigdaddyhame

    did anyone think to ask the building's owners why the mural is being painted over?

  • HamutalDotan

    Haven't been able to track them down yet. We'll definitely update if/when we do.

  • gbread

    As does the War on Melodrama, but melodrama seems to always win.

  • http://www.facebook.com/PositiveNRG Christopher King

    You're fucking kidding me?

  • tyrannosaurus_rek

    So… you're saying I'm on the winning side.

  • http://www.facebook.com/curtis.townson Curtis Townson

    My guess is that the Super Ford Bros. thought it was graffiti.