DES MOINES – The Martin Luther King Jr. Mural located at 300 MLK Park in downtown Des Moines is fading away only a couple years after it was finished.
Rich Eychaner, the property owner and manager of the parking lot the mural is on, is working to find restoration solutions.
“Another great idea was to sell 2×2 ft square patches for people at a reasonable amount and then they can come down and paint their own place,” Eychaner said. “You could have classrooms come down to do it you could have people sponsor children to do it so build into a more community social event.”
The more than 80,000 square foot mural is among the largest in the United States. This is partially why it is so expensive to restore. Estimates for the specialized paint that is meant for the outdoors range around $500,000 for the project.
Eychaner wants the mural restored because he believes art projects like the mural are good for the city of Des Moines.
“Art helps express you know the community spirit. Art helps express social change that’s needed, art it can inspire people so I think it’s tremendously important and I think that all the artistic things that are going on in Des Moines are all terrific and we need more not less,” Eychaner said.
Eychaner is tapping into the public for solutions to restore the memorial. He is inviting anyone with an idea to contact him via email at rich@eychanerproperties.com.