City officials unveiled a colorful mural Tuesday, May 7, at Cottman and Frankford avenues and signaled their intent to bring more public artwork to Mayfair and the Northeast.
The mural, designed and painted by artist David Guinn, is on the wall of the Hertz at the southeast corner of the intersection. Titled “Growth and Continuity,” it depicts a block of rowhomes behind a wave of color.
Sixth District Councilman Bobby Henon and Mural Arts Executive Director Jane Golden said the mural is the first in a series of murals that will be painted in the neighborhood, a project Henon has dubbed the “Mayfair Mural Mile.”
“This is not only changing how people see our community but how people live within our own community and how involved and engaged we can be in getting to know each other,” Henon said at the dedication ceremony.
Golden said Mural Arts wants to make a “serious commitment” to the Northeast.
“I really have come to love and appreciate Mayfair and Tacony,” Golden said. “It had always been a dream of ours to work more in the Northeast.”
“We want to be part of creating a collection of work,” she added. “It would make me very happy a year from now to know that we have mural tours up here.”
The next mural in the works will be painted at the Veterans Multi-Service Thrift Store at 7128 Frankford Ave., according to Marc Collazzo, executive director of the Mayfair Business District. Another is planned for the ShopRite at Frankford and Knorr Street.
Guinn’s mural was “years in the making,” Collazzo said, and required a lot of collaboration with different groups in the community.
The design is modeled on a nearby block of Guilford Street and features a large tree in the foreground and kids playing near a newly planted tree.
“It’s been great working in Mayfair,” Guinn, of South Philadelphia, said. “What I learned is there’s a really good thing going on here in Mayfair, and I love it.”
Others who attended the dedication ceremony included Barbara Baur of the Tacony LAB Community Arts Center; Stein Your Florist owner Patrick Kelly; Capt. John Walker of the 15th Police District; and Mural Arts project managers Lindsey Rosenberg and Maria Moller. ••
Jack Tomczuk can be reached at jtomczuk@newspapermediagroup.com
