Decades-old Broadway mural to disappear behind new condos

For 26 years, a mural of seven smiling children has greeted people at the top of the Broadway Bridge. Now a new condo development is making it disappear from view.

Denyse Klette painted the mural in 1993.

She told 650 CKOM on Tuesday that it has a special place in her heart — two of the children in the mural are her daughters. The other five are kids who lived in the Broadway area at the time.

Klette didn’t realize the mural would be gone until she received a message on social media recently.

“It said, ‘Oh, I’m so sad your murals going,’ and all I said was, ‘Where is it going?’ ” Klette explained. “So yeah, I feel sad.”

She shared her feelings about the loss last Sunday on Facebook.

“I will miss seeing it when I come across the bridge. 26 years is a long time,” the post read. “My heart is a bit broken, maybe more than a bit.”

Since making the post, Klette said she has heard from several people.

“So many beautiful comments … of how much the mural means to them, or how it reminds them of their own kids,” the artist shared. “That really touched my heart.”

Unfortunately, she isn’t sure if anything can be done to save the mural.

High Point, a 17-storey building, is being built beside the Broadway Roastery where the mural is situated.

Once complete it will have retail space, offices, and more than 100 condos inside.