Canton postcard-style mural site picked, second mural planned for ex-Buzzbin

CANTON − Local leaders have found a new site for the Greetings from Canton postcard-style mural that was removed last month.

Representatives from the Canton City Planning Department, Visit Canton, Downtown Canton Partnership and ArtsInStark believe the new mural should be painted on the building adjacent to the Hall of Fame City Ice Rink at 215 Tuscarawas St. W.

Allie Café opened in the building on Tuesday.

The mural would be located on the exterior brick wall that faces Tuscarawas Street W.

Canton Planning Director Donn Angus said the group wanted a highly visible site that is publicly owned to avoid a private property owner from once again potentially removing the mural. The city of Canton leases the property that holds the ice rink and building from the Stark County commissioners. Angus said Josh Brewer, who owns Allie Café, supports the mural’s location.

The site also fits within the city’s Reimagining Court Avenue master plan, which seeks to create a cohesive, interactive and pedestrian-friendly corridor along Court Avenue from Sixth Street NW to Sixth Street SW.

Angus said the location still needs muralist Victor Ving’s approval. The city also would need to coordinate with county leaders to ensure the mural is permissible under the city’s existing lease.

He said funding the new mural, which could cost roughly $20,000, would be split between the four entities in the group. He expects the mural to be repainted next year because Ving’s schedule is full for the remainder of this year.

Ving and his wife, GlenOak High School graduate Lisa Beggs, are scheduled to repaint a mural in Hawaii this month and install a new mural in Oregon in September, according to the website for their company, Greetings Tour. They also already have murals scheduled to be painted in Missouri and Illinois next year.

Ving previously told the Repository that he can’t paint murals when the weather turns cold.

The new mural is to take the place of the postcard-style mural that had been painted on the side of the former Buzzbin building at 331 Cleveland Avenue NW since 2015.

New mural coming to the former Buzzbin

The building’s new owner, Eric Evans, said the postcard mural had become faded and he wanted to replace it with something similar but more vibrant.

Evans has begun the process of creating a new mural where the previous postcard mural had been.

While he also wanted to work with Ving, Evans said he wanted the mural to be repainted this year, in time for the grand opening of his business, which he has declined to publicly identify.

Evans said he is working with artist Kevin Dine for the mural, which he said will include images representing sports, arts, entertainment and Canton-native professional football players. A sketch of the proposed mural appeared on the southern-facing wall of the facility this week.

Evans said he applied for the city permit needed to do the mural this week and expects it to be a few weeks before the permit is approved.

Reach Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton postcard mural site picked, second mural planned for ex-Buzzbin