BALTIMORE — Questions. That is what one community is left with after a sign was placed outside the Key Bridge Memorial on Thursday that essentially says it might not be there much longer.
A whiteboard at the memorial site reads, "We tried to make this memorial permanent, but it couldn't be done. We thank all the people who made this memorial possible for our Latin brothers."
This is all happening at the heels of the last vigil on Saturday, mourning the six construction workers recovered from the collapse. The latest being 37-year-old José Mynor López of Baltimore.
WMAR managed to catch up with Roberto Marquez, the Dallas-based artist behind the memorial. He says he hopes the hard work will eventually find a new home.
Since the mural was created in April, community members have come together, adding new elements to the display each day, such as worker boots, hats, and the flags of each of the victims' home countries.
"It feels good. You know, it has been a big challenge. Anywhere from the weather to all the difficult parts of dealing with the families that lost their loved ones at the accident here at the Key Bridge," said Marquez. "I've been doing this [creating murals] for years. And I think it turned out just-just good to this point."
Despite the mural's long two-month stint, Marquez thinks it won't be a problem finding a new location for art.
"All of this is temporary. I mean, it is not our land. It is here, you know, for the mean[time], "he continued. "I don't think that should be a problem, you know, finding somebody for the government to help us get a permit. And if it's not here at the memorial, it's okay. It can be someone else."
WMAR also caught up with Mayor Brandon Scott on Saturday at a separate event, who said that the city plans to keep the public informed on all things Key Bridge-related.
"Anything involving the Key Bridge, of course, is always ongoing, and we will be updating the public, as we always have, throughout," said Scott.
A statement from Baltimore City regarding the memorial:
Our understanding is that the community members maintaining the memorial site are no longer able or available to.
Our Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA) is working with the families and the Department of General Services to find a place to store the mural, while a permanent location to house it is identified.
It’s important to note that the change is not being driven by the city or the property owner — simply the community members maintaining it not being available
And for context, MIMA has been leading (in partnership with their counterparts in the county and state) the engagement with the families since the day of the key bridge collapse, including providing them all the resources that have been made available, so they’ve been in close contact with them and the broader community from the start.
