Work Resumes on Walnut Street Phillies Mural

The city is back to work on a larger-than-life mural celebrating Phillies history.

The mural, designed by artist David McShane — who has been behind other baseball-related murals curated by the Mural Arts Program — and painted by members of the Phillies (including Mike Schmidt) and greater Philadelphia communities, will come to fruition over the next seven weeks, according to KYW. That’s just in time for Phillies Alumni Weekend July 31st-August 2nd.

The mural itself is reportedly already complete, but its 143 painted sections need to be applied to the wall of a building at 24th and Walnut streets, which faces the Schuylkill River and I-76 Expressway, as well as the Walnut St. Bridge. The mural, which has reportedly been in the works since 2008, will cover 3,750 square feet of wall.

Michael Harris, the Phillies’ marketing director, listed reasons for the the nearly seven-year gestation period for KYW: “Multiple property owners, an adjacent bridge and river, active railroad tracks, various safety issues.”

The mural itself includes images of historic players such as Tug McGraw, all three Phillies ballparks, the Phanatic, Brad Lidge‘s 2008 World Series mound celebration, and centrally located, the dates of the Phillies’ two World Series championships, 1980 and 2008.

Much of the information about the mural, including the Phillies.com pages dedicated to the project, is dated to 2011, and the work was originally anticipated to be completed by the summer of 2012. But the delay went on, and fans have been given different dates for the projected completion.

The timing couldn’t be better — Phillies fans need something to celebrate this season.

[KYW]