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New Monorail Station Mural?

BarryZola

TS Member
Following on from the discussion in a different thread seen here:

http://www.towersstreet.com/talk/talbot ... ction-etc/

What would people think of an AT fan orchestrated new painting/mural in the very place that the old one was painted over (Monorail station near the car park)?

This question is hypothetical (at the moment) obviously as the powers that be have at some point in the recent past decided that it should be covered over in a neutral one tone colour.

This thread is really here to get a feeling of several things:

1: Do people think that a new mural in one of the monorail stations would enhance what exists currently with regards to peoples general experience of a day out at Alton Towers?

2: Do we have any people within the forum who have artistic talents who would be willing to participate in such a project if it was ever to be put forward?

3: What idea's (and this is just fun for now) would people have to include within such a mural?


Personally, I'd definitely like to include the Chained Oak as it is, and will be, a lasting local myth or legend that has not only pre-dated the park, but will most likely live on after the theme park. It's also currently a part of the park in the Hex attraction so I think that would be viable option.

Any thoughts?
 
As much as I'd love to see one, I'm afraid one of the biggest problems is that they date so quickly. Alton Towers is an ever changing beast with new attractions and additions all the time, at the same time I can't see Merlin adding a massive mural which has to be changed frequently when they update the park.

I'd love to see a patchwork quilt of old ride logos or even old photograps sewn together on the wall showing the history and dare I say magic of Alton Towers. The other thing about murals is you have to get them spot on for them to work, otherwise they look slightly 'youth centre paint attack'
 
The thing is, they can make a generic one. The one that was there before was fairly generic and although it did have a few rides on, they were fairly iconic rides they knew they wouldn't remove in a hurry. Also if you use a fairly standard background colour, you can just paint over things you wish to remove. I cannot see any reason other than money to not have one!
 
I hear exactly what you're saying there Thomas. This is why I was trying to get some feedback. This is why, if such a thing did ever happen in the future, I reckon it should (primarily but not exclusively) include things that are unlikely to go out of date too soon. What's needed are things such as the Corkscrew which is iconic for generations of people, and in a similar bracket, the chained Oak, as that will live on longer than the Hex attraction itself. Interspersing these types of things (including the Towers facade and such like) you could have other well known things such as the Pagoda fountain, Nemesis etc. These types of murals won't last forever, but they are better than a blank white wall and can always be updated. That's the way I see it.

Sorry James, I forgot to address your comment "The other thing about murals is you have to get them spot on for them to work, otherwise they look slightly 'youth centre paint attack".

I completely agree. It would have to be done to the necessary standard. I'm hoping that there would be people in the community that would be talented in this area though, as there seems to be a wealth of talent in a lot of area's. I'm guessing art would be one of them and I can think of a couple of people. I've shared the link on my FB page as-well as that may widen the net a little.
 
I think in general murals are something that went out with the 90s, but that doesn't excuse the pure laziness of doing nothing with those walls as a replacement.

The simple truth is that they just can't be bothered.
 
That's an interesting comment which I don't entirely disagree with in its entirety. However, I don't think you can put an age on murals to be honest. They're relevant where they're..well..relevant. If a mural is suitable for this type of project is debatable and you've made your opinion known there :) This is exactly why I felt a discussion needed to be had if anything was ever to happen.
 
If a mural will become out dated how about a vinyl poster, free standing from wall. It can be designed to show the history of alton and give a taste of things on the park. factor a 2 season life into it and it would not be that expensive to have.

Down side is, it could be turn into one big upselling poster
 
As you've pointed out Delta79, a temporary free standing poster or succession of posters could just become another current advertising opportunity to some degree.

Would it not be cheaper for the park to have a semi-permanent painting there (by student artists etc) which would also show a bit of an effort to provide inclusion for people in the surrounding communities. In the same way that the park feels that it is correct to supply local people with subsidized tickets to the park for traffic congestion etc, I think that allowing people who are willing to actually apply a physical artistic touch to the place in some small degree would also be 'giving something back' in a small way as it has the potential to spur would be artists on to gain confidence in themselves upon completing a worthwhile piece of art that thousands upon thousands of people will see when entering the Towers. As I've alluded to earlier though, the work should be up to the required standard. I find it hard to believe that anyone would rather have a plain white wall in such a place as opposed to some sort of relatively inexpensive paintwork to be honest.
 
Well I had a good think about this last night. The main issue with murals is upkeep, as paint can fade quickly and it requires being maintained pretty well (which, lets face, Alton Towers cannot do). So instead of a painting. How about small square panels covering the wall?

I'll draw up a design later so people can make more sense of it. Although the idea would to be to have a large Alton Towers logo in the centre of the wall and then the rest of the wall covered with small panels, showing a picture of different parts of the park. So then the only thing they would have to do over the years is removal panels when rides are removed and add new ones when new rides open.

The problem with all this though is that Merlin do not seem keen to do anything unless it will create more money in one way or another. There might be staff at Alton that want to do something with the stations, although from a business point of view the stations do the job and having a decorated wall would make no difference to their revenue.
 
Barryzola- I agree with your comments and concerns. Scared me a tad that you'd called me James halfway through your post though- everyone does it to me in real life, really odd.

I'd love to see a celebration of the past; in fact I'd avoid the present completely and just concentrate on a mural of the gardens. They never date, and they really do add to the magic of the Towers.
 
Sorry Thomas, weird how I referred to you as 'James' and then a 'James' has actually posted since. My apologies :)

Personally, if it were to ever happen I'd lean towards the more classical stuff such as the gardens and towers but I reckon there's still room for a few iconic rides of the past :)

I only say that as the general public will probably not be too aware of certain features in the gardens and house, so including a couple of popular old rides would maybe add a bit of a 'retro' aspect to proceedings.
 
The mural was crucial to the start of the day, it's an opportunity to get people excited about their day. At the moment it compares with public transport and has a multi-story car park feel! Bleh!

I think when people say 'mural' they think of realism paintings, I think something more contemporary would work better.

Plus I bet they would be able to commission one for under £25000, if it has a 10 year life span it works out to be good value.

Obviously not the same subject matter or colouring, but it shows what can be achieved...

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Pale-Hor ... al/5041761
 
I think a generic vinyl would suit it to be honest, similar to the one behind the tills in towers trading. At the moment white white wash walls it looks kind of naff' to be fair!
 
I think it would be awsome if the mural showed all the parks ride concepts in a "Clip-board" style mural. You know, things like plans & artists impressions for the parks rides. I imagine people would find that very interesting!

Maybe have some of alton's coaster's tracks running around the mural, with a shiluette of the towers at the top. You could even have the mural shaped like the towers.

Just an idea!

:)

EDIT:

Or they could just slap a load of advertisements on there knowing merlin!

;)
 
I'd prefer to see loads of advertisements which help fund new rides through increased gate figures than a blank wall!
 
I don't know about a new Mural i should think they need to repair the roof as you enter the towers street part of the Monorail its rotting wood just falling of the roof ' the paint is just awful years old on buildings that need work on them . Not a great entrance at all for Great Britains premier Theme Park.
 
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