We’re teaming up with our friends at Seattle Center to host a party at the Seattle Mural on Sunday, May 2. Come on down to Seattle Center’s Mural Amphitheatre, noon to 5 p.m., for an open house, featuring a free concert by Seattle indie-pop band Slender Means from 2 to 3 p.m. The celebration will also feature collage crafts for kids led by artist Ross Palmer Beecher, a mural cake and 1962 World’s Fair memorabilia.
Why the celebration? We need your VOTE to help us reel in six figures in preservation funds to restore this public artwork. The mural was commissioned for the 1962 World’s Fair and was designed by acclaimed Northwest artist Paul Horiuchi. Meet the late artist’s son Paul Horiuchi Jr. at Sunday’s open house. He’s scheduled to make remarks at 1:40 p.m.
The mural is one of 25 worthy Seattle-Puget Sound area projects in the running for a Partners in Preservation grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express, which will dole out $1 million in grants to historic sites throughout the region.
The mid-century, glass mosaic masterpiece serves as a colorful backdrop for the Mural Amphitheatre. It’s pushing 50, and it’s showing its age. Many of its pieces are missing, faded or cracked. It needs a facelift.
With your support, we can revitalize this landmark artwork in time for the 50th anniversary of the 1962 World’s Fair. Online votes will determine which project walks away with full funding. So VOTE for the mural every day, once a day, through May 12!
