Mural Removal On A Denver School Building

The Escuela Tlatelolco called us for graffiti removal a few weeks ago.

Usually, when we get a call to remove graffiti from someone’s property, the tagging was done by vandals. But in this case, the “graffiti” on the building the school has been in since 1995 was a large mural by the back playground that was originally created by the school’s art teacher. The mural was designed to honor the Aztec heritage and Chicano culture that was the focus of the school.

But now the building was being sold and the new owners wanted the mural removed.

Westword published the following article on June 12, 2017 about the closing of the school:

Escuela Tlatelolco, Beacon of Chicano Movement, Closes After 46 Years

After 46 years, Escuela Tlatelolco, a dual-language alternative school founded by legendary Chicano activist Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, has graduated its last class and put its building in northwest Denver up for sale.[…]

“The school had a profound mission: to provide quality education with an emphasis on cultural identity and social responsibility,” says Jesse Ogas, who has served on Escuela’s board of trustees for thirteen years. “It taught students to learn about their ancestors and culture, and why to be proud of that.”

The school quickly gained national prominence, drawing benefactors from all over the country and eventually growing to offer K-12 instruction. It was doing well enough that in 1995, it bought its current home at 2949 Federal Boulevard from St. Dominic’s for $610,000. But running Escuela Tlatelolco there proved challenging, and in 2004 the board decided to contract with Denver Public Schools. “At the time, we thought it would be a great partnership,” says Ogas. Many loyal and longtime donors disagreed, however; they viewed the deal as selling out and withdrew their support.

Then in 2014, after Tlatelolco failed to meet district performance standards for multiple years, the DPS and the school came to a mutual agreement to end the contract at the end of the 2015-16 school year.

The school called Wash On Wheels to make certain that the mural would be completely removed without any damage to the building.

The brick used on older buildings is often times softer than newer brick. You have to be more careful to make sure the softer brick isn’t damaged.

It was important that nothing be done that could hold up the sale happening that week. We had a crew out there over a couple of days and got the job done in time to meet their  closing deadline.

If you have graffiti – or a mural – that needs to be removed the right way, call us at 303-937-7181 or email us at info@washonwheels.net.