{"id":115337,"date":"2026-02-16T16:43:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T16:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/115337\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T16:43:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T16:43:21","slug":"philadelphias-building-boom-blocked-the-ed-bradley-mural-a-new-one-is-in-the-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/115337\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia’s building boom blocked the Ed Bradley mural. A new one is in the works."},"content":{"rendered":"

Philadelphia’s building boom is forcing the community to replace what was supposed to be a lasting tribute to legendary CBS News journalist<\/a>\u00a0and Philly native Ed Bradley<\/a>, who died 20 years ago this year.<\/p>\n

On a gray and dreary winter day in the city, the vibrant colors and distinguished face adorning a West Philadelphia rowhome are hard to miss.<\/p>\n

“Ed Bradley and I are both graduates of Cheney University,” Leroy McCarthy said. “He also spoke at my graduation.”<\/p>\n

McCarthy spent years fighting red tape to get the Ed Bradley mural<\/a>\u00a0installed before it was finally unveiled on Belmont Avenue in 2018, as a tribute to the late CBS News legend in the neighborhood where he grew up.<\/p>\n

“A man among men,” McCarthy said. “A trailblazer in many ways.”<\/p>\n

But the site, which spans 70 feet and was once the center of a community gathering space, is now blocked by new construction.<\/p>\n

“I was flabbergasted,” McCarthy said.<\/p>\n

Patricia Blanchet was Bradley’s wife. She said her jaw dropped when she first heard about the new building going up. She said a lot of people worked on the mural<\/a>, including CBS News \u2014 both at the local and national level \u2014 and school children, including students from the school Bradley attended.<\/p>\n

Bradley was a Philadelphia school teacher and a DJ at WDAS before he became a journalist. He rose to national prominence as the first Black White House TV correspondent and a correspondent for 60 Minutes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“He always talked about being extraordinarily fortunate and encouraging others to follow their passions,” Blanchet said.<\/p>\n

With McCarthy’s help, Kathy Harris from Mural Arts Philadelphia is now overseeing a new mural planned for a wall a few blocks away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We’re painting all winter,” Harris said, “and then we’ll get to install it like wallpaper.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0Ernel Martinez designed the first piece and is re-creating the new one.<\/p>\n

“Ed was a striking guy. His physical presence, and I wanted to capture some of that,” Martinez said. “Vibrant colors, lots of energy, big lover of jazz music. The energy, lots of vignettes.”<\/p>\n

Martinez is planning the same for the new location, which is set to be finished this summer. Another celebration is planned, just a few months from the day Bradley died 20 years ago.<\/p>\n

“This reminder of his work and his legacy and his passion and his spirit be firmly grounded in the neighborhood where he’s from,” Blanchet said. “I feel incredibly blessed and honored to be able to do this again.”<\/p>\n

Bradley died from leukemia in 2006. He never had children, but his legacy lives on in the countless young people he impacted as an educator and through the stories he told.<\/p>\n

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