Dan Lawlor: Providence Needs More Murals
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The brick walls in downtown Providence are empty canvas. We are a city full of artists and painters- from Wickenden to Smith Streets. Yet, despite some notable exceptions, the brick walls on our downtown buildings – not to mention the old mills in Olneyville, Valley, and the West End- are as plain as any other former mill city. Enliven the space!
In recent months, protests against the Government, protests against Wall Street’s influence and protests for student rights have filled the city streets. Our cityscapes should be as lively as our politics.
A plea to building owners in Downcity- sponsor contests for muralists, revitalize the tired red brick. Make the brick building walls that abut parking lots an attraction – something for people to look at, to engage with and to give another reason to visit the Capitol City.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSlowly, over the last ten years – due to the bubble boom before the stock market bust- half a dozen buildings downtown were demolished and replaced with parking lots. Think about it – the brick office building next to Mercantile Block, gone, the Traveler's Aid Building, gone, the Art Deco Police Station, gone, the old Buck a Book, gone, the parking garage behind Johnson and Wales, gone. So many buildings have been destroyed in the name of a progress that hasn't arrived. We are left with even more empty brick walls.
A Case in Point – the space between the Cortellessa Building on Washington and the Mathewson St. Methodist Church – both buildings have enormous, empty walls that surround a parking lot. Surely, with a little imagination (and a willing Muralist) those walls could represent something more than the blank canvas they are now. From street artists to silk screens, Providence is an arts mecca- let's incorporate that ingenuity into the streetscape itself.
Some will argue that there must be uniformity and order. That a proper downtown is uniform, structured and looks like a catalog. I'm reminded of a Frank Gehry quote, namely “Diversity of building types is a mark of a free society.” We have architecture gorgeous and hideous in this city- and its always evolving. Let's tap into the talent already here – and look to local artists, RISD grads, RIC professors, art teachers and amateurs – and change the landscape of downtown.
A long time ago (well, not really), back in the 1990s, a reggae band played in the Waterplace amphitheater. The refrain to one of their songs? “The people of Providence – rule this town!” Let's trust the immense talent here to paint a vision.
End the Doldrums! Have Imagination! Change how this city looks!
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