OUR MURAL, A CASUALTY OF PROGRESS

In 2017, Kramer Engineers restored the Greta Garbo and John Gilbert mural which adorns our buildings’ west wall. It depicts a famous love scene from the 1926 film “Flesh and the Devil”. Although the wall art has been a downtown treasure since 1997, our mural is now a casualty of progress.  Because in 2020, bulldozers moved in and started the process of erasing a quarter century of Columbus Discovery District history.

PROGRESS = APARTMENT COMPLEX

With downtown land becoming increasingly more scarce, multi-use buildings have become the latest construction template. That is certainly the case with our new next-door neighbor.  The Pizzuti Companies started converting the old Capital University parking lot and building a 6-story complex.  The street level is slated for restaurant, retail space and garden apartments.  Behind the retail and ground floor flats will be the entrance to a 2-story parking garage. And the upper floors will house a mix of studio, 1- & 2-bedroom apartments, gym and rooftop pool deck.  But, while this expands downtown housing, it does away with our 2-story canvas.

BRINGING IT FORWARD

Although the view of the mural will be gone, the developer plans to bring the art forward.  The rendering that Pizzuti unveiled at the October 21, 2019 Columbus Planning Commission meeting, showed that all would not be lost.  Since they intend to showcase the famous scene on the southwest corner of the building.