Detail from “Penguin Rush Hour.” Photo courtesy CultureSpotMC.com.
The Silver Spring mural “Penguin Rush Hour” will return and be unveiled during a ceremony on Wednesday, March 29.
The mural, featuring penguins as commuters at the Silver Spring Metro stop, was originally created in 1989 by artist Sally Callmer Thompson on 25 plywood panels that stretched for 100 feet under the Metro bridge over Colesville Road.
It was taken down for construction of the Silver Spring Transit Center and kept in storage. A fund-raising campaign, “Pennies for Penguins,” raised money for restoration of the original art, which had deteriorated over the years.
“As a part of the construction of the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center, the Montgomery County Government had the panels scanned and printed onto aluminum metal panels by Dodge Chrome and installed by the Gable Company. The coated panels are weather and graffiti resistant, last longer than the original wood panels, and can be easily reproduced if they are damaged. Both the metal reproductions and the original wood panels are owned by Montgomery County and will be maintained by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County,” according to the Silver Spring Downtown website maintained by the Silver Spring Regional Center.
The unveiling ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. Speakers will include County Executive Isaiah Leggett, Suzan Jenkins, CEO of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and Thompson.