It was an exciting scene as crowds gathered to witness the ribbon cutting of the Burnside Mural+ project, now completed with a mural and tiled steps. It was Glen Park resident Renee Berger’s vision for a drab wall and stairway transformation into an eye-popping instant neighborhood treasure.
The timeline required persistence for the complex project. The kick-off for the mural, by Twin Walls Mural Company, was in June 2021. The artists, Marina Perez-Wong and Elaine Chu, completed it in September 2022. By July 2023 orders for all but a few of the nearly 200 donor legacy mosaic tiles, designed and made by artists Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher, had been placed; work began on this phase in December 2023.
After a few hiccups along the way, the tiled stairway was completed this month. Folks turned out in droves to celebrate. Among the dignitaries present were Supervisor Mandelman, Director of DPW Carla Short, the Gum Tree families, and the tile artists. Also present among the crowd were mayoral candidates Daniel Lurie and Aaron Peskin.
