Old-fashioned sense of community

One of the things I like best about writing this blog is stumbling upon gems that are totally unexpected.  That’s what happened a couple of days ago when I was writing about Crestview Doors. One link led to another, and all of a sudden I found myself reading about the Wall of Welcome built by residents of the Crestview and Brentwood mid-century neighborhoods in Austin, Texas.

The 120-foot mosaic wall, located at 7100 Woodrow Avenue in Austin, was originally the vision of Brentwood resident Jean Graham in 2002.  Fundraising started in 2003 with a community festival, and Jean, along with hundreds of neighbors, worked together for five years to complete the wall, which was dedicated in March 2008.

Although I live only a few hours from Austin and am contemplating a move there, probably to one of those neighborhoods, I had never seen or heard about the wall.  It’s an amazing accomplishment and a testament to community spirit.

I found a beautiful panoramic view of the wall, detailed background on the project, close-ups of the individual tiles, along with a fascinating film entitled  A Community Mosaic by Susan and Rob Burneson that chronicles the project and gives a fascinating history of the neighborhoods.  They’re all worth a look.  

Banner photo from violetcrowncommunity.org and close-ups of tiles from rajmtx’s photostream – flickr.com