Burlington Uses Artwork to Cover Graffiti on Memorial Auditorium

A new art installation outside of Burlington’s Memorial Auditorium is intended to serve two purposes, city officials said: to brighten up a section of Main Street and cover the graffiti scribbled on the decrepit, century-old building.

The installation, which features 10 local artists, stretches 360 feet along the corner of Main and South Union streets, covering a chain-link fence that the city erected to deter taggers and squatters from loitering outside the building.

“We all care about our community; we care about our space,” said Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak at an event on Thursday, where officials and those involved in the project helped unveil the artwork. “We can fill it with joyous beautiful pieces to make sure that this is our own, and we’re coming together.”

Built in the 1920s as a tribute to veterans, Memorial Auditorium was long used as a community gathering place and arena that hosted some big name acts over the years. But the city closed Memorial in 2016 amid concerns about the structural integrity of the building.

Since then, the vacant structure has decayed further as the city has failed to gain community support for a taxpayer-funded renovation. Instead, private developers have proposed remaking Memorial — or tearing it down — as part of a redevelopment of the Gateway Block, which contains the College Street Congregational Church, Fletcher Free Library and the Central Fire Station. The project, at a prominent Burlington corner, would feature housing, a hotel and public amenities, according to a proposal from developers Eric Farrell and Joe Larkin.

But that makeover is likely years away. In the meantime, the new art installation will help spruce up what had become a seedy block.

“This is a great example of community volunteers, people participating together, to help complete a project,” said Bill Ward, the city’s director of permitting and inspections. “As a veteran, it was disheartening to see, for me, what had been disgraced here, so this brings back a little bit of some of the pride we should feel.”

Ward worked with Burlington City Arts and its executive director, Doreen Kraft, to make the project a reality. It cost about $14,000. City officials said they hope the artwork will deter vandals.

“We’re going to continually fundraise to keep this sacrosanct, and we’re hoping that both the awareness of the contribution of artists is going to speak loudly to taggers, because there is a respect for creativity and the works of artists in Burlington,” Kraft said.

One of the artists, Kimberlee Forney, attended Thursday’s event. She sells art on Church Street and was thrilled to be part of the installation.

“I absolutely love sharing my art. I’ve been playing around in my signature style for 24 years now, and it just makes people feel happy,” Forney said.

Mulvaney-Stanak noted that murals and artworks are adding some vibrancy to city streets, even when times are tough. And, citing progress in construction projects, she said the city is turning a corner.

Down the street from Memorial on South Union, crews have begun tearing down the old YMCA building, which had become a shelter for squatters and a canvas for prolific taggers. Housing is expected to go up there.

Meanwhile, the Post Apartments, under construction by Champlain Housing Trust, are expected to open early next year on South Winooski Avenue. The downtown project known as Burlington Square, formerly CityPlace Burlington, is expected to open its South Tower, including a hotel, housing, restaurants and retail, in the “coming weeks” according to Mulvaney-Stanak. Curbs are also being reinstalled on Main Street, where extended construction has angered business owners, pedestrians and drivers.

“As mayor, I am confident that our best days are truly ahead of us, that we’re moving diligently towards this cusp of a renaissance for our beautiful city,” Mulvaney-Stanak said.

Seven Days asked the mayor about her favorite concert at Memorial. That, she said, was easy.

“I would not exist if there wasn’t a show here at Memorial Auditorium,” she recounted. “In the fall of 1979, my parents had their first date at Memorial Auditorium at the Bob Marley concert.”

Her father saved a poster from that night, Mulvaney-Stanak said, which still hangs in their house.

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