This
70 foot high mural can no longer
been seen on the west side of a
building in the 9-hundred block of
Chestnut Street in
Philadelphia.
It
was
created by the Philadelphia Mural
Project in six weeks at a cost
of $45-thousand dollars in order
to be finished in time for the
Republican National Convention in
Philadelphia in July of 2000. The
inscription on the mural contains
the names of Philadelphians who
played important roles in the
underground railroad.
The
building
it was painted on was torn down in
June of 2002 to make way
for an expansion of the parking
lot. A spokesman for the city of
Philadelphia said the decision was
made due to the economic benefits
of the additional parking.
No
wall
mural is a permanent piece of art.
The average life of a wall
mural is 20 to 25 years. Harriet
Tubman's Lantern of Liberty lasted
23 months.
