Hearing to decide fate of city mural By Joseph A. SlobodzianInquirer Staff Writer
When artist Dee Chhin began painting her mural The Death of Venus in 2001 on the wall of a Victorian townhouse in Center City, she had no idea the title would be prophetic.Today, Chhin's patron goes before a city appeals board to fight a Historical Commission order to destroy The Death of Venus for having it in a historic district without a permit. The Board of Licenses and Inspection Review meets at 1:15 p.m. in the 18th-floor conference room at 1515 Arch St. to hear the appeal by Michael Sher, a Center City real estate broker who commissioned the mural on the building he manages at 410 S. 15th St. Lawyer Harry J. Sher, who is representing his brother in the appeal, confirmed yesterday that the hearing was on: "It won't be postponed by us. We're ready to go." Michael Sher has said he commissioned Chhin, a Cambodian emigre, a transsexual and an aspiring artist, to paint the mural in 2001 in part to dissuade graffitists from tagging the building's north wall on narrow Waverly Street. When officials at Peirce College, whose campus is across 15th Street, learned that the mural did not have a permit, they complained to the Historical Commission. The commission, in turn, cited Sher because the 1850 brick townhouse is in the Rittenhouse-Fitler Residential Historic District. The designation, established in 1995 to preserve the character of the old residential neighborhood, means owners cannot alter building exteriors without obtaining Historical Commission approval. But through the complexities of Philadelphia's permit laws, the mural was granted "interim approval," which allowed it to remain for four years before Sher had to apply for an extension. Those four years passed and in January the Historical Commission twice voted that the mural must be removed, setting the stage for today's hearing. ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
