CLEVELAND — A local group is adding their creative touch to an old, vacant gas station at West 48th Street and Bridge Avenue in Ohio City in order to turn the eyesore into a vibrant 100-foot mural.
The local block club called "Bridge Brigade" is leading the artwork effort with full support from the city and building owners. Last year the group took on painting telephone poles along Bridge Avenue, but artist Garrett Weider says the mural has been on their agenda for a while and now they’re finally getting to it.
“The owners aren’t planning on doing anything with it and so the block club reached out to the owners and said 'hey can we do something cool on this,'” Weider said. “I think that’s what artists want they want a sense of accomplishment doing something cool for the community.”
Weider says the mural’s vibrant, floral design was inspired by the neighborhood itself.
“If you walk that way there’s flowers everywhere in various yards so we were like this is cool,” he said.
The winter season played a part, too.
“We want to see some color in the winter. It’s all so gray.”
But the group isn’t doing all this alone. Nearby neighbors and community members are also adding their colorful strokes to the mural.
“Everyday it’s been someone different,” Weider said. “The response has been phenomenal. People constantly walking up and honking their horns and yelling out the window and people are stuck at the light looking and people are honking and so it’s been really great.”
Weider says neighborhood connections, a local organization, helped fund this project and making the Bridge Brigade’s mission of uplifting the community a reality.
“It is definitely a labor of love and it’s very cool.”
The group will be out painting and finishing up the mural for the rest of the week. Anyone who wants to help is encouraged to stop by.
