Mayors Come and Go

Just over a year after the most arts-concious mayor in the country left the helm, Rahm Emanuel allows the historic Wabash avenue bridge in Chicago to be adorned with cheapo Bank of America ads. Blair Kamin at the Tribune calls it eloquently:

“Mayors come and go. Architecture stays. And it affects each and every one of us.”

Each sign generates $4,500 worth of revenue for the city. That bridge is old, it’s going to need consistent care during its life. If Bank of America wanted to kill two birds it could specify that money for bridge upkeep, and put up some halfway-decent signage which doesn’t deface our public spaces.

It’s corporate graffiti.