Vandals deface $13,000 riverfront mural and historic building
Vandals have scrawled graffiti on the new mural in Riverfront Park in Columbia.
But the damage didn’t stop there. They also vandalized the nearby historic pump house and other surfaces around the park.
“It went from the I-126 bridge to the brick amphitheater,” said Karen Kustafic Columbia’s assistant superintendent for parks. “It was ugly.”
But the damage is repairable, she said. “It could have been worse. We think it was kids, given the frequency of the word ‘poop.’”
The mural was apparently damaged Sunday night. Columbia police have watched surveillance video from the parking lot, but so far no arrests have been made.
Park workers removed the graffiti Monday and Tuesday. However, the chemicals used also marred parts of the painting.
“They did a decent job of getting the tag (graffiti) off, but it did some damage to the paint on the mural,” said Lee Snelgrove, executive director of One Columbia for Arts and Culture. “It will require (the artist) to come back and touch up the areas.”
One Columbia commissioned the mural for $13,000 from Charleston artist Karl Zurfluh. It was dedicated in October 2018 and is called Hydro Power, echoing the nearby pump station.
The pump station, amphitheater and parks are frequently used as sets by portrait and landscape photographers. And a statewide group of female photographers, under the Facebook group Bokeh Babes have started a fundraising campaign on the Gofundme crowdsourcing site.
The page so far it has raised $300.
All proceeds will go to restoring the murals and cleaning the area, said organizer Jess Sonderman of Jess Sonderman Photography. Any money remaining will go to Columbia Parks and Recreation to further restore the pump house.