Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Workers paint over the Russo's mural on 11th Street

Last Monday, we pointed out the arrival of a sidewalk shed outside Something Sweet on the corner of First Avenue and East 11th Street...


And, let's awkwardly quote ourselves.... "As long as no one gets any funny ideas about painting over the Russo's mural on the 11th Street side..."

[2nd Russo's image via]

That's right! And this past weekend... checking in on the painting progress.


...and yesterday...


Ugh.


The store was founded in 1904. I don't know how long the mural has been here... Could workers have spared it? Not such a crazy concept. The pigs were actually saved on Second Avenue. Regardless, just one more familiar site in the neighborhood that has disappeared...

10 comments:

T.E.V.B. said...

Goddammit, was painting over it really necessary?

Scott said...

The hell they have to do that for!? Christ I should (very recent) rename this pic "Mural murderer":
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62159569@N08/5947637902/in/photostream

blue glass said...

the contractors could use some lessons.
they have done a number of things that they knew they should not have done - more serious "bad" acts.
i am sure they never thought about saving the russo sign, and nobody said anything to them.
had somebody said something about painting around the sign they would have thought it a ridiculous idea.
they are only interested in getting paid as much as possible for as little work as they can get away with in as short a time a possible.
"butter wouldn't melt in his (the contractor's) mouth"

Marty Wombacher said...

Painting the town gray, one building at a time. Ugh.

VH McKenzie said...

Maybe I'm crazy but wasn't there a different mural there BEFORE that winding ribbon? I seem to remember something with more foodie visuals on that wall, probably by the same artist.

James Taylor said...

JESUS CHRIST! First CHOW MEIN now this?! As if my week wasn't going badly already... THIS PISSES ME OFF. I am this close to buying a can of paint and redoing the mural myself (I've taken enough photos of it down the years).

Lux Living said...

Let me guess, Hollister is behind the destruction of this mural too?

Kurt said...

@VH McKenzie - If it was a delusion then it was a mass delusion because I seem to remember another mural on that wall as well. I've lived in near Russo's for 8 years so it couldn't have been that long ago.

tourist said...

that sucks.

VH McKenzie said...

@Kurt --

Yeah, I even think I remember watching the previous mural as it was being painted. I think it was by the same artist who created so many visual inside Veselka. I recall olives and pasta and such.