Two murals were dedicated last week at what will become a Code Court building, near Edmund Street and Bleigh Avenue, in Russo Park Playground. The building is the former home of Mayfair Athletic Club and was in disrepair before renovations.
City Councilman Mike Driscoll explained that he asked Municipal Court to open a Code Court to settle disputes between landlords and tenants and improve quality of life in neighborhoods. The court will operate on Wednesday nights. The idea is to make it more convenient for landlords and tenants so they do not have to travel to Center City.
Driscoll also hopes that the new Mayor’s Office of Public Engagement for the 6th Councilmanic District will move its operations to the Code Court building. At present, the employees are housed at the Russo Park Playground building.
The councilman also mentioned a planned transformation of Russo.
As for the murals, they were created by artist Jamee Grigsby. Driscoll and the Tacony Community Development Corporation were partners, and the city sponsored both.
One is titled Responsibility Blooms in Our Neighborhood and promotes drinking responsibly. Origlio Beverage funded and sponsored the mural, and Emily Hitchner served as project manager.
“Never drink and drive,” said Phil Origlio, vice president of Origlio Beverage, based in the Far Northeast.
Origlio said Grigsby did a great job on the murals and described Mural Arts Philadelphia as a pillar in the city, adding that its work “makes Philly, Philly.”
The other is titled Pathways to Justice. Barb Baur, program manager at Tacony LAB Community Art Center, a program of Mural Arts, was the project manager.
State Sen. Joe Picozzi said he is a fan of public art, and Jane Golden, the longtime executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, deputized him as a “wall hunter” to find more spots for murals.
The murals cover all four sides of the building.
Golden said the murals fit in perfectly with her agency’s motto, Art Ignites Change.
“It really makes my heart sing,” she said.
Golden expects neighbors to like the look of the new murals.
“We see ourselves in our murals,” she said.
Golden credited Grigsby, fellow artists who assisted her and Tacony LAB’s Baur and Hitchner, a program assistant.
“We should have a hundred Tacony LABs throughout the city of Philadelphia,” Golden said. ••
