There is very little time to salvage pieces of Isaiah Zagar’s Painted Bride mural

After years of uncertainty and legal battles, the former Painted Bride Art Center building, which is wrapped in one of Isaiah Zagar’s largest public murals, could be weeks away from demolition.

As reported by PhillyVoice, officials from Philadelphia Magic Gardens, which preserves and provides access to Zagar’s work, said the Old City building will be razed in November. PMG events and marketing manager Allison Boyle told The Inquirer that the organization’s preservation team will begin collecting mosaic tiles from the building starting Oct. 16.

“It’s been a roller coaster to protect this mural,” Boyle said. “We’ve had many chances to save this beautiful building. It really sucks to lose a mural like this after fighting for so long.”

The 230 Vine St. building was the long-time home of the Painted Bride Art Center, which operated as a theater and gallery space. The nonprofit arts organization is now headquartered at 5212 Market St. in West Philadelphia.

“The permits were submitted, but the time to break ground is unknown at this time,” developer and architect Shimi Zakin of Philadelphia’s Atrium Design Group, which now owns the space, said. “The permits are only the beginning of the process.”

Since the $3.85 million sale to Atrium Design Group was finalized last year, the 14,000-square-foot structure has been left vacant. As reported by The Inquirer, the developer wants to turn the space into a new 85-unit short-term rental building, with an underground parking garage, 4,800 square feet of restaurant space, and 1,000 square feet of café space.

Last year, Zakin and the organization proposed a new building that kept Zagar’s 7,000-square-foot mosaic, known as The Skin of the Bride, intact.

That structure, however, would’ve been taller than the area’s 65-foot height limit for residential buildings. Fearing the potential for congested streets, a building owner and a group of Old City residents successfully appealed the city zoning board’s decision to allow the building, and put a stop on construction. They felt it would set a bad precedence for future developers.

Julia Zagar, owner of Eye’s Gallery and the wife of Isaiah Zagar, said Zakin’s initial proposal was a “beautiful” plan, but a bid that didn’t garner the support she expected. “We went through five years of fighting, winning, losing, winning, and finally losing,” Zagar said. “It’s really a tragedy. The city is losing something wonderful. And aside from it involving Isaiah, public art is for everybody.”

Zakin previously told The Inquirer pieces of Zagar’s mural could still be incorporated into the space, depending on how well the tiles can be removed before demolition.

The mosaic tiles are tightly attached to the building’s facade, Boyle said. Which means a fair amount of the mosaic will be lost. For the pieces they can salvage, some will end up on the first floor of the proposed building, and others will be used to construct a new mural inside the courtyard. “Our preservation team has a lot of experience doing what they do, so hopefully, we’ll be able to save most of the pieces,” she said.

If large sections can’t be removed and preserved, there is a chance that portions of the mural would remain on the concrete facade.

This will be “better than nothing,” Robert Gurmankin, president of the Franklin Bridge North Neighbors said, adding that “it’s unfortunate a compromise couldn’t be made to keep the whole mosaic.”

“Some people loved the mosaic, and I know one person who thinks of it as some ugly pop art,” Gurmankin said. “That’s some people’s opinion, but I understand it’s a shame to lose it.”