Life is Sharing the Same Park Bench Mural Restoration

Life is Sharing the Same Park Bench is a mural by artist John Francis Morell and has been an iconic part of the downtown Cleveland cityscape since its completion in 1969. The mural was commissioned by Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes, the first African American mayor of a major US city.

Painted by Morell and John Kuchera, alongside many volunteers, the painting portrays different races, ages, and genders all sitting together and led to a series of other downtown murals by other artists who were inspired by the piece. While many of those inspirations have been painted over, this mural remains on the side of the Superior Building on Rockwell Avenue & East 9th street, its significance maybe now more appropriate than ever.

In the early 1990s the mural was in danger of being eradicated until there was a public outcry for its preservation. Instead of getting rid of it the city renovated it. Since then, the mural has not been touched - for almost 30 years. In addition to restoring the mural itself, we will bring new amenities such as seating, landscaping, and informational signage to the small pocket park in front of the mural.