The Phillies mural overlooking the Schuylkill River can’t be detached from the building where it was painted, says artist David McShane. If the proposed redevelopment at 24th and Walnut moves ahead and the building is demolished, the mural will be lost with it.
The 3,750-square-foot mural was made on cloth panels that were permanently attached to the wall with acrylic glue. McShane says the cloth made it possible for several hundred Phillies fans to help paint the work at community paint days. Participants filled in sections like a giant paint-by-number before the panels were affixed to the building.
That process brought fans into the making of a mural that celebrates the team’s history. The piece, created in 2015 with Mural Arts Philadelphia and the Phillies, depicts more than 30 players and moments from the team’s past.
The building’s future is still uncertain
PMC Property Group has proposed replacing the building at 200–10 S. 24th St. with a 31-story, 372-unit apartment tower. The project would require a zoning change to allow residential use. At an August presentation to the Center City Residents Association (CCRA), PMC’s representative said the developer was still working through the community process.
The project is not a certainty. The CCRA did not say when a decision on the proposal might come. Their October 27th zoning committee agenda did not list the project, though that alone does not establish whether it has advanced through other channels. centercityresidents.org
A new mural, somewhere else
CCRA said they facilitated a meeting between Mural Arts and PMC. The groups acknowledged that the existing mural could not be preserved in its current form if the property is redeveloped and agreed to work together to find a site for another Phillies mural.
McShane said Mural Arts considers the mural an important part of its collection and would like to preserve it if possible. If the development goes ahead, he said, a new version could potentially be created at another location. So far, CCRA has not identified a site or timeline for that effort.
The original mural’s fate hinges upon the building’s fate. Whether a new mural will take its place depends on what PMC and Mural Arts do next.
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