Last night, we published a brief note about the “disappearance” of one of West Seattle’s beloved murals, “Press Day,” from the side of the building that’s home to the Terry Gangon Insurance Agency (and others) – thanks again to Ken Beres for noticing it was gone, and e-mailing to ask what we knew. This morning, we have additional info from Julia Gangon regarding what exactly is being done and when the mural will be back:

The mural was removed to paint the surface underneath. It has been over twenty years since the wood beneath was inspected and treated.

The wood was intact. It needed some cleaning, primer and two coats of paint. The mural will be put back up as soon as we are finished with the surrounding area. We want to make sure that it is not damaged by the painting process.

We have been surprised how much concern has been generated in such a short time. The mural was removed Monday August 2nd and stored inside the building. By Tuesday we were receiving calls, questions and emails.

The mural should be reinstalled by next Monday or possibly sooner. We are sorry it has caused such a stir. Our aim was to protect the wood underneath from potential moisture damage.

We have a bit of background on the murals in the “West Seattle 101” excerpts republished on WSB – read it here. “Press Day” was painted in the early ’90s by Alan Wylie, who also painted the “Bank Day” mural on the side of the Chase branch at California/Oregon.