PORT ANGELES — A peeling scenic mural behind the Laurel Street fountain that depicts Olympic National Park will be repaired in August, a city official said Wednesday.
“I wish it could be done today because of the tourists,” Deputy Director for Recreation Allan Goff said.
“It’s the external part of the sheets that are peeling, so it’s not massive overhaul.
“It can be saved.”
Goff said the problem is water that has seeped into the seals around the 4-foot by 8-foot panels that make up the mural, and caused the surface to begin lifting and peeling.
He was told by Nor’wester Rotary Club member Steve Zenovic that the mural had to be fixed in the summertime when it is hot, Goff said.
Then the accumulated water can dry as well as the new sealant to be applied, he said.
The Nor’wester Rotary Club paid $30,000 for the mural, which was dedicated in January 2000.
It features 50 animals, including slugs and butterflies, and has the faces of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Teddy Roosevelt visible in the clouds.
Teddy Roosevelt was a champion of the Olympics and created the national monument that later become the national park.
Franklin Roosevelt signed the documents creating the park in 1938.