Former Remax mural could get a facelift

Mural artist Kathleen Kresa paints over a depiction of a Remax balloon logo on the side of a building on 9th Street after the city's planning commission deemed it off-site advertising. (Triplicate file photo).

By Nicholas Grube

What was once a contentious mural—and is now a perplexing one—might get a facelift soon to become a viable part of Crescent City's many large wall-paintings scattered throughout the community.

Currently, a mural on Ninth Street depicts two Aleutian geese flying over a coastal scene toward a white, balloon-shaped abyss, an image evoking thoughts of censorship or incompletion.

A giant Remax logo—a red, white and blue hot-air balloon—previously filled the void, along with other lettering that advertised Remax Coastal Redwoods Real Estate, the company that paid for the mural.

But the Crescent City Planning Commission deemed the painting to be in violation of city guidelines.

Today the commission will take up a bid by Remax and the artist who painted the original mural for a new painting to satisfy city regulations.

"We don't want to leave the wall as it is," Remax Coastal Redwoods owner and broker Casie Eaddy said. "We feel that it's more of a nuisance to the community than it previously was."

Eaddy said the purpose of putting the mural on Northcoast Hobbies and Coins in 2007 was to help beautify the city.

The large Remax balloon, though, was not considered an appropriate addition.

"The Planning Commission determined it was not a mural," Crescent City Planner Will Caplinger said. "It was off-site advertising."

Since the mural was located on Northcoast Hobbies and Coins and not on Remax Coastal Redwoods' business, it did not comply with city regulations that only permit such signage on a company's own premises.

Caplinger also said the Remax mural did not follow Crescent City's mural themes that are in the general plan.

"The Remax balloon was the main subject of the mural," he said.

According to the city's general plan, murals must comply with three central themes and be comprised of redwoods, a sea coast fishing village or Crescent City's historical past.

Now Remax plans to have the same muralist who painted the original, Kathleen Kresa, paint over the existing painting with something that will satisfy the city's guidelines.

"There's going to be a whole new one," Eaddy said. "It's actually a revision of that mural" that is already there.

Kresa, who most recently completed a mural of Mary Peacock on the corner of Third and I streets, said she found a photo at the Del Norte County Historical Society museum that she will use as the basis for the new painting.

"I took a photo from the museum of Crescent City around 1900 and the view is looking south toward the harbor," Kresa said. "We're going to leave the geese there, so the view will show some of the old buildings that used to be in Crescent City and the harbor and Whaler's Island."

If the new mural is approved by the Planning Commission, Kresa said she will try to start work on it in June.

The Crescent City Planning Commission will perform its architectural review of the proposed mural at a meeting at 5:30 tonight at the Cultural Center, 1001 Front St.