Gerald Hanks
Another beloved Houston landmark will soon feel the impact of the wrecking ball. Students at the University of Houston’s downtown campus will soon say good-bye to the beloved “Gator Wall.” The school announced that the wall and its accompanying mural will be demolished later this week to make room for more parking spaces.
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The “Gator Wall” mural went up in 2015 and was created by French street artist Sebastien “Mr. D” Boileau. Although the installation was meant to be temporary, it became a landmark for students and staff at the UHD campus.
Gator Wall #LongLiveTheGator 🐊 pic.twitter.com/xzytD2muGQ
— Galaga (@patcarsep) July 26, 2017
The wall formed part of a campus warehouse at the corner of North Main and West Naylor. The warehouse will come down to make room for a new Natural Sciences building and its additional parking spaces.
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Students took to social media to express their displeasure at losing this campus landmark. Some students voiced their dismay at missing out on taking their graduation pictures at the famous mural.
“All for what just a few measly (parking) spots?” asked Matthew Thornton on the school’s Facebook page. “Lame. I think you should let the students, faculty, staff and alumni vote on this. Waste of the artists time and the university / students money if you tear this down.”
“This is awful,” wrote ChristinaMarie Labay. “Why not build up (parking garage) instead of out to avoid destroying the most beautiful part of the campus? The gravel lot across from the Business building would be perfect since it’s in terrible condition anyway
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The demolition project will run on Thursday July 28 and Friday July 29. The Daly Street parking lot will be closed during those days, but will reopen Saturday July 30.
