Philadelphia’s murals are internationally recognized and locally beloved, but they don’t last forever. The city has seen many murals lost when new buildings are constructed, and now another work of art will soon face the same fate. A major construction project is underway at Broad and Callowhill, and with its beginning comes the end of a work of art.

According to the proposal submitted to the Civic Design Review in 2014 and reported on by Philadelphia Magazine, the project, a mixed-use space by Parkway Corporation and The Hanover Company, a developer from Houston, Texas, will feature 339 apartments and 15,000 or more square feet of retail space, with 370 parking spaces. The project is split between two addresses, 322 and 339 Broad Street, which are currently parking lots.

This new development means saying goodbye to the Girl Scout mural currently overlooking the western lot.

“We understand that murals cannot be here forever, that everything including us, is transitory and that the life of a city is fluid and dynamic,” said Jane Golden, the executive director of the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program

Golden said that the key is to pick a smart site, to try to protect the art when it is in jeopardy, and, if the mural is lost, to “work vigilantly to create something new.”

“I would say we lose about 3 murals a year,” Golden said, “but we create about 100 new works of art each year.”

Although some murals cannot be saved from demolition, they are heavily documented in over one hundred videos, both long and short, and 3 books that have been made about Mural Arts’ work.

While the Mural Arts Program doesn’t want to see their murals go, it’s not always within their control. Golden explains that, while the artist holds the sole copyright to their design and shares the copyright of the mural with Mural Arts, the ultimate decision to remove the mural is that of the developer.

“All we ask of developers is this: please be respectful and let us know if a mural or a work of public art is in jeopardy. Inform Mural Arts so we can tell the community and the artist. These are city assets,” Golden said. She continued, “[a]nd then, if the mural is beloved, iconic, et cetera, we ask that developers be part of the solution to recreate new work.”

The murals may not be forever, but their spirit and memory can be. “[W]e want the work to be as powerful and impactful as possible, “ Golden said, “so that when/if the murals go away, the memory of the work is powerful and reminds us why we want art in our lives.”