PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia has a series of new murals stretching across the city, meant to greet visitors and residents alike in celebration of the city and the U.S. ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
Pointing up from the Fairmount Waterworks at the mural along the Schuylkill Expressway, Mayor Cherelle Parker joined officials from Mural Arts Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, along with Carlton Williams, director of Clean and Green Initiatives, to unveil one of the largest focal points of the city’s Gateways to Philadelphia projects. It’s a mural called “One Philly, United City, with Love.”
“[It’s] just in time for our America 250, but this project is designated as one of Mayor Parker’s initiatives to make Philadelphia one of the safest, cleanest and greenest big cities in the nation,” said Williams.
“This investment will last long after 2026 is over,” proclaimed Parker.
According to Williams, highways and gateways play a big part in the Gateways projects, aimed at beautifying the city with public art and landscaping projects while removing graffiti. There are seven key locations around the city, including the 26th Street Gateway at Penrose Avenue, the South Street Bridge, 30th Street Station and interchanges between the Schuylkill and Vine Street Expressways. There are also over 96,000 plant and floral displays planned.
The entire multimillion dollar gateway project spans more than 245 neighborhoods, with millions of dollars in funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Funders Collective. Williams described the largest mural as Philly’s “Sistine Chapel.”
“It’s on the CSX wall, and it has all of the Philadelphia icons,” he said, “the Liberty Bell, the Ben Franklin Bridge. All of these things are what makes Philadelphia great.”
