Greenock street mural given fresh lease of life
January 18 2012
The painted tiles showcase a Greenock street scene in the days prior to construction of the town’s Oak Mall, giving pedestrians something pretty to look at (and a history lesson) as they traverse a series of previously grotty underpasses.
A painstaking restoration process has seen each individual tile repaired and expunged of graffiti prior to being repainted to match the period look as closely as possible.
Rather than opt for a slavish recreation of the past however the designers have opted to chuck in a few modern representatives of contemporary Greenock; including references to the Tall Ships Festival and Beacon Theatre.
Andy Nicol from 6274 said: “We really wanted to do the original mural justice. It was a very popular part of the town which local people thought had been lost. We were delighted to be part of the restoration project and we hope the public enjoy having it back… With a few new additions, of course.”
The refreshed piece has rekindled memories in long term residents
This grim thoroughfare has been given a much needed splash of colour
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3 Comments
#1 Posted by Flinton on 19 Jan 2012 at 08:48 AM
Let's hope it stays graffiti free for a while for people to enjoy ! Well done 6274.
#2 Posted by Colin French on 18 Feb 2012 at 20:02 PM
Hi All, Simply fantastic to see that this tile art is restored for years to come. I have never seen the work as I live in Surrey but was I shocked when by googling 'Greenock Underpass' to see if there were any pictures of this old 1974/75 project, that I found not only did it still exist, but to find it has also been restored. Well done all concerned. My interest was spured by an old article that I own from a Jan/Feb 75 Mac Fisheries in-house magazine 'Mac Matters', it has a write up on the new Macs Shop that opened around the building of the underpass and a good photograph of a craftsman tiler fixing the original tiles around the Mac Fisheries building. Well done Greenock. Who would have thought that after 37 years the mural would still be there. Colin French (Dorking, Surrey)
#3 Posted by Colin French on 18 Feb 2012 at 20:08 PM
I will post this Greenock article and the photo of the master tiler adding the original tiles, to my web-site for all to see on www.macfisheries.co.uk
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