Welcome to the Neighborhood

Welcome to the Neighborhood by artist David Guinn takes different scenes from its immediate vicinity and weaves them into one image. Pictured from the neighborhood are: The South Street Bridge, the Naval Homes, buildings on South Street, the gateway at the back of the Naval Homes, and the condo development inside the grounds of the Naval Home. At the top of the mural there is a bird on a wire in the rain. In the foreground there is the front of a home, three trees in bloom, a person, and a dog. The central feature of the mural is a large door frame or gateway.

The mural is painted directly on the wall with mosaic tile accents. The face of the person is ceramic tile that has been hand painted with glaze. The textured tiles in the window box, the flower barrel and the shirt of the figure were made by youth who were part of the intensive delinquency prevention program administered by HAPS Methodist Services. The mosaic work was overseen by Jessica Gorlin-Liddell. Gorlin-Liddell and Guinn worked with the youth at the Stetson School at B and Allegheny, where they made textured tiles and flowers and leaves for the window box and planter barrel. The figure is a self portrait of the artist, David Guinn.

There are several layers to the meaning of the mural. The mural is intended as a gateway to Center City for people traveling across the South Street Bridge. The elements in the mural are organized around the large door frame. On the right side of the mural the South Street Bridge and the Naval Home represent the neighborhood as it has been. Through the doorway, the new buildings at the Naval Home development represent the future of the neighborhood. The figure standing in front of the open doorway is a welcoming presence.

This mural, like other murals by David Guinn has a personal layer as well. The watchful birds and animal serve as emotional anchors. The different scenes surrounding the figure are meant to be like a dream, switching between viewpoints, times of day and times of year. There are winter and spring trees, rain and sun, daytime and evening light. In the center of the mural it is evening beside the large AT&T building, and the moon is out. Just like the buildings on either side of the large door frame represent the present and future of the neighborhood, they also represent the present and future of the figure in the foreground, the artist.

The decision to put himself in the mural comes from this- for David, his work, especially his mural work and his life, are intertwined. David decided to represent the major role that mural painting has played in his life for a number of years, and the personal meaning of his work by putting himself in the mural.

The style of painting in the mural and the subject matter is something of a summary of David Guinn’s past mural work. The geometric skies are similar to Crystal Snowscape, the animals from Morris Animal Refuge, the handling of the foreground doorway and window from the Azalea Garden at Parrish and Taney Sts. And the trees, though different, refer to the trees in the Spring and Autumn murals. (The Autumn mural has been decommissioned, covered over by new construction.)

There were two stipulations from the building owner at the beginning of the design process: there had to be a dog (her dog Magnus) and a bicycle (her son owns Elite Cycle at 21st and South Street – a bike manufacturer.)

The mural was restored and extended in 2012.