Bothell Mural To Be Destroyed -- City's Demolition Plans Sadden Woman Who Took Charge Of Project In 1989

BOTHELL

A combination of paint, persistence and everyday miracles produced the Bothell Centennial Mural across the street from City Hall.

A bulldozer will take it down.

The mural depicting the development of this turn-of-the-century logging town was painted on a building that the city plans to demolish to make room for the new $9.7 million public-safety building voters approved in May.

It is an ironic twist to the landmark's short life, because the mural was the result of an overwhelming community effort.

The mural, at the corner of 101st Avenue Northeast and Northeast 183rd Street, was painted in 1989 entirely by volunteers and passers-by, from school teachers and students to retirees.

At the helm of the mural project was Sharron McAllister, then a teacher at the old Sorenson Preschool. Plans to tear down the mural, she said, sadden her.

"I've always said they will see me strapped to it when they bring the wrecking ball," McAllister said. "When I look at that wall, I feel a lot of pride in it. I think of everyone that took part in it, not just me."

There now are no plans to save the mural, said Sue Kienast, who sits on the city's Landmark Preservation Board.

"We're sad about it, but we do understand," she said. "It had to happen."

An attempt to take down the part of the mural that has volunteers' names on it failed earlier this year when the wall's surface crumbled.

Kienast said the mural could be repainted on another blank downtown wall, but few are available.

Plus, it can't replace the experience of painting the original, McAllister said, referring to the unexpected groundswell of community support for the project.

It all started when McAllister heard from a friend that the city was looking for a volunteer to spearhead an effort to paint a historic mural commemorating the state's centennial. McAllister - who possessed no expertise in mural painting - signed up for the job.

She enlisted the technical support of a Bothell High School art teacher, Barbara Phillips, and her art students. Together, they arranged a set of old photographs capturing different aspects of Bothell development - horses pulling logs, the bustle of a railroad depot and Main Street, a Fourth of July parade across the 102nd Street Bridge.

The team went out at night with overhead projectors and flashed transparencies made from the photographs onto the side of the building, tracing the images that later would be painted.

By then it was nearing the end of the school year, and Phillips planned to leave soon to work at another school district. The flow of art students available to work on the mural simultaneously began to dwindle.

By Memorial Day weekend, McAllister, inexperienced and with no crew, was left wondering what to do next.

The mural was to be finished by the July Fourth holiday.

Suddenly, things began to happen.

Out of the blue, a retired painter, Vic Keck of Everett, who'd just moved to town with his wife, offered his assistance. But he couldn't climb the scaffolding.

So "I acted as an extension of his arms," McAllister said. "He would stand on the ground and point to where he wanted me to paint or shade."

"Pretty soon more people came onto the project that way," she said. "I invited anybody who stopped and took an interest."

An elderly woman brought doughnuts and coffee to volunteers each day. Somebody else brought rags and other supplies. A lumber company supplied free paint. Donations collected at the July 3 street dance paid to have the mural coated with anti-graffiti sealant.

The mural was finished on time and immediately became a symbol of local pride.

"The whole community had a feeling for it, as if they'd really done something, even though they weren't artists," Kienast said.

As for the need for anti-graffiti sealant, Kienast said the mural hasn't been touched in eight years.

Tyrone Beason's phone message number is 206-464-2251. His e-mail address is: tbea-new@seatimes.com