I like it. It sure beats the graffiti that once covered that wall.........and now some want it to disappear.
Last night we drove by it and remarked that the colors seemed brighter. Today the DMN tells me why. The article shows a photo, if you don't know the area.
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It’s not on any list of famous walls, but the three-block-long mural painted in 1976 on a brick privacy wall has become a landmark in northwest Dallas.
“I feel very connected to it,” said Jill Farrer, a Farmers Branch resident who can be found every night touching up the mural along Forest Lane. “Now that I’ve started working on it and met so many cool people, I don’t want to stop.”
But there are others who disagree and want the mural to vanish.
Farrer’s brother was among the W.T. White High School art students who painted the wall, primarily as a graffiti deterrent. Before that, the off-white wall was often decorated with off-color graffiti.
Over the years, there have been efforts to restore the mural, including a 1992 redo that took three years and a 2011 touch-up after Glen Meadow Estates resident Brent Herling upset those behind the original wall by adding SpongeBob SquarePants to cover some gang tags.
In recent weeks, Herling has been spearheading his own makeover with the help of area residents and passers-by, Farrer among them. As a result the mural looks almost brand new.
“I’ve tried to duplicate the colors,” Herling said. “Some folks thought the green was too dark and the original blue background was lighter. I’ve tried to make amends with some of the people who think the colors are off. I’ve also tried to pick all the colors in gloss so you can pick up the images from a distance.”
But in recent days, says one member of the Glen Meadow Estates Home Owners Association, an “ugly” war has broken out over the mural, sparked by two men living behind the wall who want it painted beige and covered with bushes.
On nextdoor.com, Danny Scott calls the mural a “hideous eyesore” that “detracts from the value of our neighborhood.”
His comments have led to a lengthy and often heated back-and-forth over the merits of the mural, and just who owns the wall — the city or the county or the homeowners living behind it.
The fight has reached Dallas City Hall, though the few neighbors opposed to the wall maintain it’s their property to do with as they wish, and not the city’s or county’s concern. Those working to restore the wall want the city to bless their efforts.
Gary Chitwood, who shares the house with Scott, asked their City Council representative, Jennifer Staubach Gates, to intervene. Gates says she hopes they can work out their differences, as District 13 has “so few icons.”
“My office and city staff are clarifying the question of ownership and who is responsible for maintenance,” she said in a written statement to the homeowners association. “After speaking with neighborhood leadership, it is my understanding that it is the will of the neighborhood to maintain a painted mural.”
Scott could not be reached for comment, but he has made his intentions clear on social media: He wants his section of wall left alone. Herling said Scott has gone so far as to use the volunteers’ paint to obscure the mural, and Gates confirms police were called to resolve the dispute Monday.
The homeowners association’s official position is “no comment,” said board member Al Daniels, who has been talking to Gates about the escalating “nastiness” going on behind the wall. He said the board has taken several votes, and so far the majority is in favor of keeping the mural.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/park-cities/headlines/20140606-tiff-over-forest-lane-mural-is-a-3-block-long-story.ece
