“Approximately 50 square feet of the mural depicting Phoenixville’s history crumbled away Tuesday, leaving a gaping hole in what represented part of the former Phoenix Iron Company against the skyline.”–The Phoenix, May 9, 2007
It is unfortunate that part of the Renaissance Park mural has collapsed.
It is fortunate that Charlie Berger is able to provide his expertise to explain the problem.
It is unfortunate that Mr. Berger’s expertise was not brought to bear before the mural was painted–perhaps the stucco surface could have been made more durable.
Even a Potemkin village needs repairs.
Enter Barry Cassidy and Barbara Cohen.
“At present, there is no estimate as to how much the repairs could cost, but both Cohen and Cassidy . . . agree that is the least of their concerns at this point.”-The Phoenix, May 9, 2007.
Ms. Cohen was, of course, responsible for the project from the beginning (including the fact that it came in at almost double its projected costs). She went on to create an “Impairment Loss” of $3,195,951 at another Phoenixville site.
Mr. Cassidy’s most recent accomplishment is the inability to flick on the lights in the 200 block of Bridge Street.
Mr. Cassidy and Ms. Cohen are plainly the choices for this job: they share not only a monogram, but also a common devotion to public accountability, a unique clarity in their communications, demonstrable project management skills, and a deep commitment to public funding.
Oh, for the good old days, when they were at each other’s throats over the color of the streetlights!
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2 comments:
The mural project was always flawed -- a Phoenixville-born member of Philadelphia Green, which works extensively with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program was quite vocal at the time that Phoenixville's mural was costing twice as much as any mural of similar size in Philadelphia and was not constructed in a manner that would last.
Unfortunately, for those of us who know murals, this day was expected.
I think we need to replace the gaping hole with a painting of the STILL empty GATEWAY Building. Yes, years later and we still wait for this pipedream to be fulfilled.
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