VW victory
Waynesburg zoning board OKs public art display
A newly tie-dyed Volkwagen Beetle now has a permanent parking place.
The borough’s zoning board voted 4-0 Monday night to grant an exemption to allow Farley’s Hotel Cafe owner Farley Toothman to mount the painted shell of a Beetle on the garage wall opposite his cafe on Morgan Street.
For the 8-by-14-foot display, he enlisted the help of the Waynesburg Central High School art program, which has been painting in the style of the 1960s hippie movement.
Toothman was required to get approval for the project within the B-1 business district, as Waynesburg’s zoning does not specifically list public art as a permitted use.
Toothman said he also had to agree to what he said were “common sense” conditions, such as no profanity and no product advertisements.
“I’m pleased, and somewhat enthusiastic, about their embrace of public art,” he said Thursday. “I think we have a long way to go, and it’s kind of a fun trail to be on.”
Toothman said the art class could finish painting the Volkswagen this week. After that, he plans to have the students continue by painting a historic Greene County scene on the wall where the car half will be mounted.
Through a public art page Toothman created on Facebook, he also found someone to paint the other half of the Beetle. Casey Robinson’s art class at West Greene High School will be turning it into its own canvas — this time, for a history-related theme to coincide with America’s sesquicentennial.
In his presentation to the board, Toothman said, he brought up the murals and public art displays in other regional communities like Greensburg and Morgantown, W.Va.
Eventually, he hopes to see something akin to the Public Art and Mural trail along Route 6 in northern Pennsylvania, which features more than 50 murals across six counties.
“I think that Waynesburg and southwest Pennsylvania could be on the same sort of thing for those who like to drive their convertibles and visit various towns,” he said. “It”s not only towns the size of Waynesburg, but it’s also the much smaller little hamlets out there that have art in their soul somewhere.”