Barn Mural Repainting Pushed Back to 2012

A decaying "Welcome to Riverhead" mural painted on the back of a barn at East End Arts will be restored, Riverhead Business Improvement District officials said, but added the repainting has been pushed back to 2012 due to other projects and cold weather.

The mural was painted in 2003 by Pennsylvania artist Wayne Fettro and was paid for by the Agricultural Heritage Festival committee at the time. In April, the Riverhead News-Review reported that the Riverhead BID was planning to pay Fettro $6,000 out of its funds to return to Riverhead and repaint the mural, which shows a Long Island farming scene.

The eight-year-old mural was damaged by weather and a sprinkler system that washed away the bottom half of the painting, said Riverhead BID President Ray Pickersgill.

That restoration will happen, he said, but was delayed after complaints by residents that the mural would be painted by the same Pennsylvania man.

"A lot of people were complaining that were weren't going to use a local artist," Pickersgill said. "The only one that came forward was this one that does this vinyl thing that goes over the barn."

Though there were discussions about painting a different scene, Pickersgill said the BID will rehire Fettro to come back and repaint the same mural, due to its popularity.

"We had other [scenes] that we were considering, but we took a vote and this one always won," he said. "We are still the largest farming community in New York State. We want people to know what that's all about."

However, the restoration will now have to wait until spring or summer of 2012, since the cold wet winter would make it difficult to restore and repair the damaged wood at the barn, which was originally built in the 1860s and is owned by the town.

Other projects like the a renovation of the pump house in also take priority, Pickersgill said.

"We will definitely be getting to the barn," he said, "there's just [the pump house] that I'd like to get out of the way first."