Graffiti Wall Being Temporarily Displaced

ATHENS, Ohio (April 4, 2001) -- The famed Graffiti Wall on Mulberry Street behind Bentley Hall is receiving a facelift. The wall, which has served as a palate for many a sage's thoughts, is being dismantled, but a successor is in the works.

The current wall is tumbling down and should be completely removed by Friday. A temporary graffiti wall will be erected nearby, on Richland Avenue, until a new wall is complete. Tentative plans call for the new retaining wall to include three 20-foot sections, giving approximately the same writing space as the current wall.

The wall removal project is part of construction for the Bentley Hall restoration project. An addition to be built directly west of the existing structure will expand the building from 56,772 square feet of space to 110,308 square feet. The addition will include increased classroom space and offices for the departments of history, political science, sociology/anthropology and economics.

The $20.5 million project is scheduled to take two years and is supported by funds from the state capital improvements bill.