Scott Street Pub Tear Down
Taken January 10th, 2008 - Wausau, Wisconsin. Creating room for further development, the city has systematically purchased the three eastern-most buildings. These structures will be cleared and turned into temporary parking - making room for future urban in-fill once a proper use is identified.
Pictures below show the demolition of a Blues Icon in Central Wisconsin, The Scott Street Steak & Pub, known affectionately by locals as, “The Pub.” See recent Article for more history.
Photo contributed by Lisa Stahl
“It is a sad day. That mural is going to die. Artist Marcus Nickel spent over a year of his life, had a heart attack in the middle of it and managed to come back, and that mural will die.” — Dino Corvino
Tom Neal said:
Great job on the photography, excellent record. I firmly believe we can make the mural live again, recreated as a community project. With a location, some funds, some artists, and the original artist’s permission, a full-scale facsimile can be produced. Let’s do it.
January 10th, 2008 at 9:05 am #
Tom Neal said:
While there’s a line under “Discussion & Feedback” saying there are no responses to this article, it’s plain to see that that’s a dirty lie.
January 10th, 2008 at 10:56 am #
Tom Neal said:
Okay, I retract my 2nd comment.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:17 pm #
toneloke said:
Marcus. Nice record of this sad, but inevitable, event.
I also know the artist (another Marcus), and am not at all surprised to hear he shrugs his shoulders at the whole thing. Of course, he realizes that this is OUR loss, not his !
I sympathize with Tom N, but I believe we live in a world with way too many facsimiles already. The trouble is, few recognize when something is REAL anymore. So, naturally, any truly indigenous artwork must be razed to make way for overflow parking for “arts block”. We wouldn’t want to walk too far to attend fake Johnny Cash or Grateful Dead tribute concerts !
concerts at the Grand.
January 10th, 2008 at 7:41 pm #
martinjames said:
I’m pretty new to town and never got to experience Scott Street but I think the mural image should live on. Maybe reproduced full scale, on a poster, or how about a t-shirt. Memories live on and can serve as a reminder of what was lost so that maybe we won’t repeat the past. Viva Scott Street!
January 10th, 2008 at 9:22 pm #
Tom Neal said:
toneloke, I can’t agree with you on your comment re: the “facsimile” question. Look at that mural … it is constructed not so much as art, but as a collection of facsimiles. Those are posterized treatments based on iconic photos of John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson, etc. What the mural represents is not art in itself, but the love of an artform: the blues, and a nod to its historic roots. That mural, art or not, is part of Wausau’s history, and embodies not only the building’s past, but the blues it contained and supported, and that image can be saved through artistic reproduction.
January 11th, 2008 at 11:32 am #