Mural at historic Wichita building to be removed, stored until new home is found
A mural that has been in the lobby of the Eaton Place in downtown Wichita will be moved to a new location.
The mural had been slated to be demolished Monday. But the property manager allowed creator Steve Murillo and several others to come in and work on removing the two-story art piece on Monday, Murillo said.
Murillo says the mural will be rolled and stored away until a new home can be found.
The mural was installed in 2001, during the redesign of the building. Murillo said he learned of the planned demolition last week from a friend who lives in the building.
An email from Eaton Place management to residents said lobby renovations would start Monday. “We will begin with the demo of the mural and then move on to removing the wallpaper, skimming the walls and then the new paint,” the email read.
The property manager for the Eaton Place did not want to comment.
The mural features the 1887 building. It also shows other elements from that time period, including a horse-drawn fire truck.
Among the people helping remove the mural were councilwoman Maggie Ballard and her father, Doug Ballard. Maggie says she has “extra love for the Eaton.” Her family owned an antique store named MBallard & Company in the Eaton Place building in the 1990s.
“The mural is beautiful and I wanted to see if we could try and save it and kind of be here instead of just waiting to see what was going to happen,” Ballard said.
“Just to see the history that our city has to tell, you know, I think it’s important to keep those stories alive,” Ballard added.
Murillo says the mural should be completely removed by Tuesday afternoon.