Union Station (mural)
{{Short description|Mural in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.}}
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{{Infobox artwork
| title = Union Station
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| wikidata = Q7886077
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| caption = The mural when new
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| year = {{start date|1987}}
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| condition = Hidden from view
| museum = 612 N. High St., Columbus, Ohio
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| coordinates = {{coord|39|58|29.7|N|83|00|10.8|W|region:US-OH_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
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Union Station is a two-story tall mural in the Short North and Italian Village neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio. The mural was painted by Gregory and Jeff Ackers facing a parking lot in the commercial district. The work has been lost or hidden from view since about 2014, when a hotel was built on the parking lot site.
History
Created by Gregory Ackers, it covers a portion of the north wall of Blick (formerly Utrecht) Art Supplies at 612 N. High St. and depicts the historic Union Station. It was created in 1987 {{ndash}} a decade after the station's demolition. The work was painted at the behest of the organization Citizens for a Better Skyline. On June 21, 1987, the organization held a public celebration of the mural's completion at the site.{{cite news|title=Short North|newspaper=The Columbus Dispatch|url=https://infoweb-newsbank-com.webproxy3.columbuslibrary.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=&sort=YMD_date%3AD&fld-nav-0=YMD_date&val-nav-0=June%2021%2C%201987%20-%20June%2021%2C%201987&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=mural&docref=news/11B86F5CB601DDE0}}
It was located across a parking lot of another well-known Ackers-created mural, Trains.[http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/clintonville/news/2012/03/27/artist-selected-for-planned-mural.html "Artist Selected for Planned Mural"], Kevin Parks. This Week Community News. 28 mar 2012. Retrieved 20 jun 2012. Greg Ackers restored both works in 1998.{{cite news|title=RESTORATION HELPS ARTIST FULFILL HIS HEART'S DESIRE - MURALIST GIVING PROCEEDS FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH|newspaper=The Columbus Dispatch|date=August 12, 1998|access-date=March 21, 2023|url=https://infoweb-newsbank-com.webproxy3.columbuslibrary.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/10DE42B25ADF5178}}
By 2012, the mural was deteriorating, with chipping paint leading to large sections of the mural being lost. The other mural was noted to be in decent shape, however.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thisweeknews.com/article/20120612/news/306129605|title=Muralist ready to make a scene in Clintonville|first=KEVIN|last=PARKS|website=ThisWeek Community News}} Around 2014, the hotel Le Méridien Columbus, The Joseph was built on the space that served as a parking lot and both murals can no longer be seen.{{Cite web|url=https://www.columbusunderground.com/before-and-after-short-north-bw1|title=Before and After: Short North|date=August 11, 2020}} Also lost during the project was a mural, Cliff Dwellers, based on the George Bellows painting.
Artist Gregory Ackers responded to the planned development eliminating his work in 2012: "The way I see it, some things in life are permanent and some things are temporary. Acceptance is a hard thing, but I accept it."{{cite news|title=SHORT NORTH - Mural project shows changing landscape|newspaper=The Columbus Dispatch|date=August 2, 2012|access-date=March 21, 2023|url=https://infoweb-newsbank-com.webproxy3.columbuslibrary.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/1406ADD21682C588}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Ohio|Visual arts}}
- {{ccat-inline}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNVHb6BcMvw WOSU feature on the mural and its counterpart]
{{Public art in Columbus, Ohio}}