What a time to finish a new Italian-themed mural
The mural that was recently completed on the side of the Italian Fraternal Society building on the south side of Butler is a public good that has no drawbacks.
Public art of any kind is usually thought of as nothing but a universal good, and it’s great that a building that houses an organization established more than 100 years ago is getting a fresh coat of paint. Additionally, it’s good to have a building get an artistic treatment, even though it is at least a mile away from the city’s main area of traffic.
Even though it won’t have as many eyes on it as pieces in downtown Butler, like the umbrellas painted on a wall of West Vogeley Street, or a musician painted on a wall on East Vogeley Street, the effort by artist Tom Panei is still evident.
Panei used photos of the southside neighborhood dating to the 1940s and ’50s as subjects for the 26-foot-by-30-foot mural. The mural shows an abstract depiction of businesses on Center Avenue, the original St. Michael’s Church on Spring Street and the society building adjacent to each other.
Jason Delano, vice president of the society, said Center Avenue was once considered the “Main Street of South Side,” and was the hub of what used to be Butler’s Italian neighborhood.
Research and knowledge passed down from past generations makes the Italian mural that much more interesting. The piece celebrates Italian heritage and history in a way that is pleasing to the eye and to the brain.
The mural is big enough to be visible to those facing it even a few blocks away from the society, which sits at 217 Hickory Street in Butler. While it was likely a good amount of work for the artist and the society as a whole, maybe other building owners will take a lesson from the Italian Society and we’ll get more murals painted around other parts of town as well.
— ET
