‘The colors are alive’: Artist paints with purpose as part of Bethlehem Parking Authority initiative | Bethlehem Area

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – City officials are beautifying Bethlehem, one wall at a time.

Officials on Monday unveiled a new mural inside the Walnut Street Garage.

Mark Jobes, chairman of the Bethlehem Parking Authority, tells 69 News the agency wants to make its garages warm and welcoming.

“I think a lot of times people are afraid to go into garages,” Jobes said. “And we want to make them more inviting and more appealing and just become a better part of the community.”

The Walnut Street Garage is the third garage in Bethlehem getting a touch-up as part of the department’s initiative.

“And there’s more to come,” Jobes said.

“You know, art is so incredible,” Tammy Wendling, senior vice president of Bethlehem initiatives for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, said. “And just to add some beauty and some talent and some nods to our history in these murals is something very, very special.”

Officials enlisted the help of Lehigh Valley local artist Hector Castro.

“I’m one of the Valley people,” Castro said.

Castro’s mural is a combination of Bethlehem’s historic landmarks and huge, colorful birds.

“The Hill to Hill Bridge, to show the connection between the North Side and South Side. And then the Moravian Church, because it’s also one of the oldest structures as well,” Castro said.

The landmarks appear all in black and white, meeting with three larger-than-life birds, each in a primary color: yellow, red and blue.

Castro says the birds represent freedom.

“I think all of us long for any type of freedom,” he said. “Whether it’s financial freedom, whether it’s health, whether it’s stress.”

Castro says he painted with a purpose, intending to keep the buildings without color.

“Structures are beautiful, but they’re not alive,” he said. “The colors are alive. So, let’s focus on the things that bring life.”

In the same way, the birds were intended to be big, bright pops of color.

“Just a friendly reminder to use the color in life. You know, we could build a beautiful garden. We can all be free, and we can all explore this beautiful earth, if we work together,” he said.

While the parking garages are very well-lit on the inside, Jobes adds, the parking authority plans to add exterior lights in different colors to commemorate different occasions each month. For instance, he says, October could have pink lights for breast cancer awareness.

Wendling says the murals are not only meant to beautify the garages, but to greet folks as they’re visiting Bethlehem and to stay with them as they say goodbye.

“They’re left with this lasting image,” she said. “Which I think is just as powerful as they’re leaving Bethlehem.”

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