Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

New Mural for Washington Park Neighborhood

Located at 31st and Lisbon, it's an artistic tribute to the old Milwaukee zoo.

By , Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service - Oct 28th, 2015 10:31 am
The mural, titled “A Source of Life,” as seen from 31st Street. Photo by Jeff Redmon.

The mural, titled “A Source of Life,” as seen from 31st Street. Photo by Jeff Redmon.

A small crowd of Washington Park residents and community leaders recently celebrated the completion of a mural marking an entryway to the neighborhood. They cheered and clapped as Alderman Russell Stamper cut a ribbon dedicating the mural on 31st Street at Lisbon Avenue.

“(The artists) did a wonderful job with it,” said Lakeitha McClinton, who lives across the street and watched the mural go up with her three young sons.

A resident introduced the idea of visually marking the entry to the neighborhood, said Beth Haskovec, a member of the arts and culture committee of Washington Park Partners, one of the project’s sponsors.

Alderman Russell W. Stamper II cuts a ribbon as community leaders and Washington Park residents celebrate a new mural marking the neighborhood’s entrance. Photo by Andrea Waxman.

Alderman Russell W. Stamper II cuts a ribbon as community leaders and Washington Park residents celebrate a new mural marking the neighborhood’s entrance. Photo by Andrea Waxman.

Artists John Kowalczyk and Jeff Redmon, who were selected by the committee from a group of eight, painted the mural during a one-week period in early October. Titled “A Source of Life,” it covers the south and west sides of a vacant, city-owned building at 3044 W. Lisbon Ave.

With a nod to the zoo once located in Washington Park, and inspired by the park’s designer Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., who believed that natural beauty can improve human nature, Kowalczyk and Redmon incorporated wildlife native to the area or in the zoo. The mural depicts coyotes, tiger moths, Great Crested Grebe ducks and polar bears on a brightly colored geometric background.

“The surreal landscape and proportionately huge wildlife give the feeling of a wonderland,” they said in an artists’ statement about the mural.

Interested to discover that wild animals live in the urban setting, Kowalczyk said they wanted to point to the natural beauty surrounding even busy city intersections in the neighborhood.

“I liked calling attention (to these animals) and making everybody see that beauty,” he said.

This mural is just a tiny part of the vision for the neighborhood, explained artist Muneer Bahauddeen, a Washington Park resident and co-chair of the arts and culture committee.

The mural wraps around the vacant building on the northeast corner of Lisbon Avenue and 31st Street. Here it is viewed from Lisbon Avenue. Photo by Andrea Waxman.

The mural wraps around the vacant building on the northeast corner of Lisbon Avenue and 31st Street. Here it is viewed from Lisbon Avenue. Photo by Andrea Waxman.

“We visualize this being an artisans row from 27th Street to 49th Street on Lisbon,” Bahauddeen said. “We’re encouraging artists and artisans and craftspeople to move into available housing here in the community and keep this initiative going.”

Bahauddeen said that this is an ideal time for people to relocate to Washington Park. It is “the new frontier” for those concerned with urban issues to work with the community using art as a healing tool, he explained.

According to McClinton, the block has experienced some healing since the mural was completed.

Now that there is a mural on the building, “we don’t have to worry about the prostitutes or crack heads standing on the corner,” she said.

She added that it draws attention to the space and “really brings a lot of light to the block.”

This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee.

Comments

  1. Gary says:

    Speaking of Washington Park itself, I’m old enough to remember the old Zoo there, and feeding the deer through the fence.
    I’m also old enough to remember Capitol Court’s Easter time displays of live rabbits, newly hatched chicks, etc. which was a large draw for kids.
    Wouldn’t it be great if Milwaukee County Zoo made a return to Washington Park with a satellite site featuring domesticated animals that used to be raised within the city limits: chickens, goats, ducks, a cow or two for milking demonstrations. Crazy stuff.

  2. jimmy says:

    what a waste of money of money and time!! you painted on a nice brick building??? its brick you don’t paint brick?? wtf is this how your going to welcome folks in my 15th district.. what a bunch of bull!! you could of took that money and one abandon house in my neighbor hood and give it to a hard working citizen that might not be able to get a traditional loan and get them in a HOME OF THERE OWN NOT PAINT ON ABONDON BUILDINGS AND SAY YOU DID SOMETING FOR US WHEN ARE STREETS ARE DIRTY AND THE GARBAGE MAN DONT PICK UP OUR GARBAGE!!! STOP SPENDING MONEY ON JUNK AND DO SOMETHIG ONE TIME!!!!

    the alderman don’t return emails BUT HES GONNA WANT MY VOTE???? NOPE

    VOTE FOR ((( SEAN MUHAMMAD FOR 15TH ALDERMAN )))

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