Along the Metropolitan Branch Trail, pedestrians and cyclists alike are able to enjoy a brand new mural gracing the Northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. The mural, titled “28 Blocks,” was painted by New York-based artist Garin Bake.
The name of the mural is meant to call back to the 28 blocks of marble used to build the memorial, according to The Washington Post. It is also not meant to honor Lincoln, but instead the African-American men who quarried the white Georgia marble used to build Lincoln’s statue.
Beneath the mural is a quote from African-American social reformer, abolitionist, and writer Frederick Douglass: “Without culture there can be no growth. . . . Without action, no progress. And without conflict, no victory.”
In the spring of 2016, the D.C. Department of General Services put out a $50,000 national call for artists in order to cover a vacant building along the trail. With 20 applications received, the Department of General Services chose the design because “of its connection to Washington. The Lincoln Memorial is one of the most iconic monuments in Washington,” according to Joia Nuri, a Department of General Services public information officer, in an interview with The Washington Post.
It took Baker four and a half months to paint the four-story mural.
• Northeast D.C. Gets A New Mural Honoring The Workers Who Built The Lincoln Memorial Statue [WAMU]
• Massive new mural in D.C. pays tribute to the men who built the Lincoln Memorial [The Washington Post]