A LETTER FOR PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE

THU · NOV 5 · 2026

If you have ever walked or driven the Walnut Street Bridge, you know the wall: The Phillies Mural, David McShane's 2015 painting of the whole history of the franchise, covering the side of a warehouse at 24th and Walnut above the Schuylkill. Mike Schmidt, Tug McGraw, Brad Lidge, Chooch, and pieces of all four ballparks, visible from the bridge, the trail, and I-76. It is one of the most photographed walls in the city. And there is a real plan on the table to tear the building down.

This came up again this week because the people started sharing a call to help save it, which is a good reason to lay out plainly where things actually stand. Here is everything verified as of today.

WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED

PMC Property Group, the biggest apartment developer in the city, has proposed a 31-story tower with 372 apartments, 118 parking spaces and a pool, on the site where the mural building stands. The current building is a parking garage and storage facility, and PMC does not even own it yet; the developer has described the project as a possible joint venture with the owner. At a community meeting in August, the developer's attorney estimated construction would take about two and a half years.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE MURAL

This is the part nobody can answer yet, which is honestly the story. Reporting when the plan surfaced said the mural would likely have to come down if the tower proceeds as designed. The developer's attorney said at that meeting they would be open to working with the community on whether the mural can be salvaged somehow. Nobody has said what salvaging a painting on a wall that is coming down would even look like. Until someone does, the honest answer is: the mural's survival is an open question inside an open process.

WHERE THE APPROVAL ACTUALLY STANDS

Here is the part that matters most and gets the least attention. This project cannot happen under current zoning. The site is zoned industrial and commercial only, and a 31-story residential tower needs the zoning changed to CMX-5, which takes City Council legislation. The site sits in Council President Kenyatta Johnson's district, and by the city's long-standing practice, nothing moves without the district councilmember. His support, per the August reporting, may hinge on the position of the Center City Residents Association, where the plan was presented in August. As of today, no zoning bill has been introduced and no public hearing dates have been announced. So: real plan, real renderings, early process.

THE HONEST TENSION

The people in the thread this week are split, and they are split in a way worth saying out loud. On one side: save the mural, it is the city's identity on a wall. On the other: this is housing, 372 units, in a city that needs it, on a site that is currently a parking garage. One commenter called the save-the-mural push pure NIMBYism. Another said imagine caring more about a mural than families who need homes. Both of those people live here. A good outcome probably has to take both of them seriously.

WHAT THE CITY JUST VOTED ON, COINCIDENTALLY

On Tuesday, Philadelphia voters approved the ballot questions, including one making the city's Office of Arts and Culture permanent after decades of re-authorization. That vote does not protect this mural, to be clear. But it is a strange week for the city to permanently institutionalize its commitment to arts and culture while quietly weighing whether its most beloved sports artwork becomes a construction site.

HOW TO ACTUALLY WEIGH IN

Since nothing is scheduled yet, the venues to watch are the Center City Residents Association, whose position on the project could decide how hard Council pushes, and Council President Johnson's office, which controls whether a zoning bill ever gets introduced. When a hearing date lands, it will move fast from there. We will keep following this one.

The people love this wall. The people also need places to live. The next few months decide whether Philadelphia has to choose.

PHILA.FYI

This story links every claim to where we found it. Corrections welcome.