Wildlife … Not; But We Have Murals

Saturday, 17 December

It was still dark out when we woke up — yeah, I know … no surprise there; we’re early birds.  We dallied in the room until the sun began its day, using the time to pinpoint a few places to check out on our way home.  By the time we left to grab a bit of breakfast at the Manhattan Bagel shop down the street from the hotel, the skies had brightened to a brilliant blue, but the sun wasn’t much help warming the temp up from the 32F (0C) that we woke up to.

(1) Wyland Wall and 9/11 Tribute mural in Wilmington, Delaware; (2) Russell W Peterson
Urban Wildlife Refuge; (3) Wyland Wall in Baltimore.

I love murals, and when I know there’s one not far from where I am, I try to seek it out.  When I was with my former employer, I was a regional manager for the Mid-Atlantic Region.  That meant making quite a few trips to our offices in Baltimore, Philadelphia and environs, and Wilmington.  Amtrak’s Metroliner service was my best friend back then, whisking me to these offices at least once a month.  (Trust me, I am not missing all that work-related travel.)  One of the sights I saw from the train window was the Wilmington Wyland Whaling Wall.  When a search of the internet revealed that the wall was just a short detour from our hotel, it was a no-brainer to stop by for a closer look-see.

Here’s how the foundation’s website describes Wyland’s whaling wall project:

In 2008, twenty-seven years after Wyland’s quest began, the artist and the Wyland Foundation completed the monumental goal of painting 100 life-size public marine murals.  These murals were painted in life-size dimensions to increase appreciation and understanding for aquatic habitats and the life within.  Perhaps, most importantly, they have reshaped attitudes about marine life conservation.

“We know now that water connects all the countries of the world,” Wyland says.  “Our goal with these projects over the last three decades has been to convey the urgency of conservation issues to the public.  The health of our oceans and waterways are in jeopardy, not to mention the thousands of marine animals and plants that face extinction if we do nothing.”

The completed Whaling Wall campaign is one of the largest art-in-public-places projects in history, spanning 5 continents, 13 countries, and 79 cities around the globe.

Photographing whaling walls is not easy as they are painted on public buildings, often overlooking a parking lot.  This time, I lucked out with no cars blocking the mural, but I couldn’t do much about the tree branches on the right side of the building.  Nor could I photograph the entire wall as that would have put me in the middle of a busy, multi-lane road.

WW 44: “Delaware Marine Mammals”
dedicated 2 August 1993.

The bonus for making the detour — another mural just down the street from the whaling wall.  This one, painted as a tribute to the fallen firefighters of September 11, decorates the side wall of Wilmington’s Fire Station No. 1.  Because of the fence and the wall in my way, it wasn’t easy to photograph the mural in its entirety, but here’s a look at it anyway.

a "patriotic tribute to the fallen firefighters of September 11."
dedicated November 2007.

More information about this mural can be found in the blog post here.

Our next stop was pure happenstance — and a very pleasant one even though there was little to see in the form of wildlife except for a few sparrows that were flitting in and out of the tall grass.  I guess the smart ones have migrated to warmer climes.  Can’t say as I blame them.

(Lest you think the image to the left is of a “real” bird; I am going to disappoint you and tell you that it’s a sculpture that is part of the sign welcoming visitors to the refuge!)

We found the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge when we followed a sign that pointed to the “Riverfront Walk.”  We were thinking it would be a walk like the one at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor — it wasn’t.  But the detour was not for nought.  When we spied the sign for the refuge, we just kept driving until the road dead-ended in a parking lot with a building nearby.  It turns out that the building is the DuPont Environmental Education Center (DEEC).  It was too early to participate in any educational programs planned for the day, or view the exhibits, so we just wandered around the boardwalk instead.

Left: A refuge-appropriate mural at the industrial plant outside the gates.
Right: the refuge is named after a former governor of Delaware who gained international
recognition as an environmentalist, scientist, activist, and public servant.

The refuge overlooks the Christina River with the Wilmington skyline in the distance.

Collage of images from the refuge.
A flyover bridge leads visitors from the parking lot to the DEEC Building and the boardwalk.
(Yes; I couldn’t resist doubling my pleasure with a reflection shot!)

A wise old owl gets ready to swoop down on ...

… the invading red jackets.

By the time we left the refuge, the clouds had moved in.  Hoping the blue skies would reappear as we approached Baltimore, we headed south on I-95.  There was quite a bit of traffic, but it flowed smoothly.  Alas, it was still overcast when we reached “Charm City” as Baltimore is known.  As it was rather breezy and chilly as well, we had no incentive to take a walk around the Inner Harbor.  So, we made a quick detour to photograph another Wyland Whaling Wall, and got back on the interstate heading home.

WW 46: “Extinct Atlantic Gray Whales”
Dedicated 16 August 1993.

We ran into a traffic jam exiting from I-95 to the beltway heading west.  Rather than sit in the back up, we quickly switched plans, and took the beltway in the other direction.  Yeah, it took longer to get home; but at least the traffic was moving.  I’ll take long over stationary anytime!  Twenty four hours after leaving the condo, we were back home … just in time to eat the sandwiches we had prepared but forgotten to take with us for an “on-the-go” early dinner yesterday!