Vandals destroy murals at Painter's Pond Park in DeLand

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Feb 26, 2009 - 5:55:39pm

A police investigation has just been launched into the case of spray-paint vandalism of the murals at Painter's Pond Park, at Wisconsin and Alabama avenues in DeLand.

The murals depict scenes of DeLand's history, and are part of a complex of such murals around Downtown DeLand. Now, the images of Henry A. DeLand, John B. Stetson, and others who built DeLand and the surrounding communities are scarred with obscene words and nonsensical scrawls.

Artists Courtney Canova, Robert Brooks and Jan Herr, along with Herr's DeLand Middle School students, completed the sequence of murals dedicated at Painter's Pond Park in 2003. Canova did more painting after the students completed their project.

Carol Ferrara of DeLand alerted The Beacon to the destruction, bringing in photos she took at the park Feb. 25.

Ferrara was taking a visitor on a tour of the murals, when she discovered the graffiti. She said the murals are a good way to show off DeLand's history and art, but not on that day.

"It was shocking," she said.

The next day, Feb. 26, someone called the Police Department to report the destruction, according to an employee in police records.

Whether the murals can be restored is a question yet to be answered. Neither Herr nor the other artists have yet taken a look at the artistic carnage.

Beacon photographer Marsha McLaughlin took extensive photos at the damage at Painter's Park Feb. 26, and found an empty spray-paint can, which she turned over to DeLand police.

It appears at least some of the vandalism may have been done by different individuals at different times. Some graffiti was spray-painted over or marked through and replaced with new words or symbols, in different styles.

— pat@beacononlinenewscom

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