Goss-Grove Neighbors Repaint Compass Rose Mural

“Can you take my picture with the rose?” asked one of the neighbors who helped bring an iconic Boulder street mural back to life Saturday, Sept. 14th. The University of Colorado-Boulder art student was the first of many who can now capture images of themselves and others at the geographic center of Boulder, located at 19th and Grove Streets.  

Almost exactly 13 years ago, in late September 2011, neighbors gathered to paint the original street mural, which features butterflies, dragonflies, crystals, and a pink Lotus flower, meant to represent the neighborhood’s pollinators, as well as the nearby Dushanbe Teahouse and Naropa University. Artist and Goss-Grove resident Jan Burch designed it after Jerrie Hurd, then chair of Goss-Grove Neighborhood Association, initiated the project to create “pride in the neighborhood.”  

The mural was repainted every couple of years to keep the yellows, oranges, purples, pinks, greens, and blues vibrant, however, the mural was lost to a 2022 city of Boulder paving project. At the time, neighborhood treasurer and long-time resident, Michele Bishop, started an effort to repaint the intersection. Her enthusiasm got the neighborhood engaged. Goss-Grove Neighborhood Association member Susan Iott worked with the city to gain permits—and a Creative Neighborhoods Mural Program grant of $3,000—to repaint the Compass Rose, as it's known. After several months of emails and applications, the work of Iott, and her fellow GGNA members, was realized, and the street mural began to take shape in the early morning hours of Saturday, Sept. 14.  

Artist Burch sketched out the mural by hand with chalk, while her partner Jay Pettipiece directed neighbors, who first traced her work in black paint, and then filled it in with colors. Jay divided neighbors into “workers” and those with artistic abilities, who could take on the more complicated aspects of painting, such as blending the vibrant pinks of the Lotus flower. Neighbors came and went all day, some staying to paint for 15 minutes, and others painting all day, as was the case with Ines Barlerin, whose tan Carhartt overalls bore the evidence of her dedication to the cause by the time she put down her brush close to 6 p.m. Everyone pitched in. Barlerin’s husband, Peter, brought doughnuts and manned the grill for the neighborhood block party, in addition to any job that needed doing. The food and drinks to keep the party going were the result of a second city grant, a Neighborhood Connection grant, that became available at the last minute. Neighbor and local filmmaker Bruce Borowsky used his drone to document the project’s progress.  

After the 12-hour painting party, the Compass Rose is nearly completed. Neighbors will gather one more time this fall to add text to the mural that includes the longitude and latitude coordinates, 105° 16’ 12” W,  40° 0’ 54” N, the neighborhood name, Goss Grove, and the words: Geographic Center, Boulder, Colorado.  

Photo credit: Bruce Borowsky