The Painted Bride Mural Remembered

Since the spring of 2018, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens (PMG) has been advocating to save Isaiah Zagar’s 7,000 square foot public mosaic at the Painted Bride site (230 Vine Street).

In January 2021, the Atrium Design Group submitted a proposal to the Philadelphia Zoning Board to build a 7 story apartment building that would preserve the mural in its entirety, and purchased the building in April 2022. The design was unanimously approved, but was appealed by a small group of neighbors, including the owner of Chocolate Works Building. That appeal was granted in June 2022 by a judge, who reversed the approval of the design. The developer is now proposing a short-term rental building and demolishing the current structure and mosaic.

As of October 2023 a demolition permit has been pulled, and although a date has not been set, the developer requested that the Preservation Team from PMG begin work on the mosaic in preparation of demolition. The team has started work to remove specific tiles and elements from the mosaic. It is our hope that these tiles will be able to be used in future mosaics, and we are in talks with the developer to create a memorial mosaic on the new construction. However, it is important to note that the “Skin of the Bride” mosaic by Isaiah Zagar cannot be recreated and will be lost.

This video captures a walk around the mosaic with its creator, Isaiah Zagar, and his wife Julia, before the mosaic is destroyed.