Dan Salenski smiles and cleans the “Gathering Song” mural. Mathias Lehman-Winters/The Astorian Mathias Lehman-Winters/The Astorian

Volunteers with the downtown historic district association care for ‘Gathering Song’ 

 

Volunteers gathered Saturday morning to clean the 13th Street Alley and mural between Commercial and Duane streets. 

Armed with scrub brushes and cleaning solutions, the volunteers organized by the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association spent about two hours — 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. — removing a buildup of moss, mildew and dirt along the lower portion of the mural walls and the sidewalk.

Dan Salenski, a volunteer, said that the cleanup had a noticeable impact.

“Its a lot better than it was before,” Salenski said. “It was cleaned off last year, but the dirt came back.”

The association commissioned local artist Andie Sterling to paint the 135-foot long “Gathering Song” mural between Commercial and Duane streets in 2019. Since the project’s completion, the association has also taken on the responsibility of maintaining the mural — and subsequently the alley — to preserve its integrity.

According to association organizer Janet Hutchings, the area could not be powerwashed due to concerns that water may leak down into the basements below, or that powerwashing could damage the mural.

“Scrubbing is a lot more labor intensive, but it allowed us to focus in on particular spots,” Hutchings said. 

In addition to the moss and general grime that was removed, volunteers also scrubbed away some graffiti from the mural. 

According to Hutchings, the mural cleanup was the first time since its completion over five years ago that the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association had organized a scrubbing of the mural.