Liz Shea-McCoy, the artist and arts advocate who orchestrated the first public art project that resulted in 71 bike sculptures still dotting the capital city’s landscape, is on another mission.
This time, she and a small group of art advocates hope to save the “monumental example of public art†that’s graced the front of Pershing Center since 1957.
The mural — created by artists Leonard Thiessen and Bill J. Hammon — includes 38 figures depicting an array of sporting, theater, dance and circus events, what Shea-McCoy calls a “ceramic you-tube video of the times and a remarkable physical depiction of life across the auditorium’s mid-century timeline.â€
Shea-McCoy sees it as a “tangible relic of Lincoln’s past life, a hard copy of a mid-20th century digital image that just happens to weigh as much as 10 elephants.â€
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And she’s determined that it should be preserved.
“Why save it? Because it reflects who we are, what we were and where we came from, all at the same time,†she said.
Her efforts started in earnest some months ago, when she realized others shared her feelings about the mural, which represents so many of her own fond memories of graduations, concerts and sporting events.
“I would start talking about the mural and the possibility of it coming down with the rest of Pershing and the people I talked to were like, ‘Are you kidding me? That can’t happen.’â€
She knew the discussion of what to do with Pershing had been going on for some time — but now plans are underway for a project by the Omaha-based White Lotus Development to create 100 affordable housing units, a small retail space, a wellness center, child care center, underground parking, a community green space and, potentially, a new central city library.
That makes it unequivocal: Pershing — and the 173,000-piece mural — are coming down.
“I just couldn't see that wrecking ball hitting the mural,†Shea-McCoy said. “I just felt it would almost hurt my heart if that happened.â€
Then she got connected to Eric Aspengren, a Democratic political consultant, musician and fellow mural appreciator, and with a third advocate, they got to work.
And the pieces started falling in place.
The Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation agreed to be a repository for tax-deductible donations and the group raised the $13,000 for a feasibility study to determine if saving the 38-foot-by-140-foot mural was possible.
Then Shea-McCoy appealed to the Lancaster County Agricultural Society board and Amy Dickerson, managing director of the Lancaster Event Center, about relocating the mural there and they were open to the possibility.
Once the feasibility study determines if it’s possible to remove the mural, and they know if all or just a portion is recoverable, event center officials can decide if there’s an appropriate place at the event center to display it, Dickerson said.
The group has contracted with Jensen Conservation Services in Omaha, which will remove a 4-square-foot piece of the mural to analyze whether it can safely be removed and restored.
There’s a lot more pieces that have to fall into place. The conservation group’s proposal notes the challenges: deterioration of the joint compounds between the panels, missing tiles, dirt and possible mold and a 2009 study by BVH Architects that noted missing flashing and found the mural to be “fair-to-poor condition.â€
Shea-McCoy said the feasibility study is vital — and will get underway as soon as possible, because if it is salvageable, her small group will need to raise the $2 million to $3 million estimated cost of removal, restoration and re-installation by summer — when the city estimates it will begin demolition.
City officials said they concluded using taxpayer money to try to save the mural wasn’t feasible, but they support the small group’s efforts using donations, as long as it doesn’t compromise demolition, public safety and starting construction on the White Lotus project.
“We are supportive of their efforts to explore the ability to reclaim the mural,†said Hallie Salem, redevelopment manager with the city’s urban development department.
The demolition — which will include asbestos removal and other remediation efforts — will cost $2.5 million, Salem said, and an analysis by PC Sports in 2014 determined it would cost about $1.2 million to remove the mural from the inside, restore and reinstall it.
At this point, Salem said, the mural would have to be removed from the outside because going inside the old building isn’t safe, and they’ve gotten complaints that pieces of the building are blowing off.
There’s been lots of discussions about the mural’s fate, Salem said. Some people want pieces of it to keep as memorabilia, some want to save a portion of it, others don’t want to save it at all.
This group has gotten the furthest along on a plan.
“It’s commendable that they’ve really jump-started this,†she said. “I’m kind of concerned that it’s kind of at the 11th hour ... but I also appreciate the speed with which they’re operating. They’ve decided not to wait for someone else to do it. They’ve taken the initiative so that’s really commendable.â€
Karen Janovy, retired director of education at the Sheldon Museum of Art, said she supports the feasibility study and, if it can be safely removed and doesn’t jeopardize the possibility of a central city library being built there, would like to see the mural saved. It’s a good example of art from the 1950s, she said.
Aspengren, who is working with Shea-McCoy, said one of the two artists who created Pershing’s mural trained under renowned Mexican painter Diego Rivera, and there are few such murals of its kind left in the country. But the main reason he and others want to save it is because it’s a city landmark.
“As Lincoln has continued to grow, the mural has served as part of the city’s charm — for over eight decades — as an aesthetic and historic icon,†he said.