Yesterday the Board of Estimates approved $27,500 to underwrite the first “Love Letter to Baltimore” by New York artist Steve Powers – and nobody seemed happier than the woman who will contribute her wall to the painter.

“I am so excited and thrilled,” said Lynne Kirsner, CEO of Fitch Co., a janitorial supply firm that faces the northbound lanes of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (I-295) near Annapolis Road.

Kirsner has granted Powers permission to use the building’s western wall – a long stretch of brick and corrugated steel panels – for his mural, even though she has no idea what he might paint. The wall now features a peeling sign that advertises the company.

“We’ve been a trampled-over section of Baltimore,” Kirsner says, and a mural by the famous ex-graffiti writer “is the first step” in getting some respect for Westport, a hodgepodge of old factory buildings and rundown rowhouses.

She envisions small shops and outdoor cafés along Annapolis Road where liquor stores and litter-strewn lots currently coexist with street people. It’s a hope that seemed so tangible when developer Pat Turner proposed a billion-dollar waterfront hub at Westport a decade ago, only to find his plans upended by the 2007-09 recession.

A crowd-pleasing mural by a pop artist, Kirsner is convinced, can help the community regain its footing.

Positive Messages

History being one of Baltimore’s greatest assets, Kirsner says she would love it if the artist painted scenes depicting the Star-Spangled Banner and other famous symbols and events rather than his trademark signage.

Powers has been commissioned around the world to paint “Love Letters” splashed with colorfully painted words and advertising motifs. While not exactly the kind of art Kirsner was describing, “He’s giving positive messages and people seem to respond to them,” she said.

His Baltimore project became controversial last month when he spray-painted “FOREVER TOGETHER” across a block of rowhouses slated to be demolished in East Baltimore.

The mural was described as a “pop up” (or preview) of his planned five to 10 Love Letter murals commissioned by the city near busy roadways as a “welcome mat” to visitors.

The first installment of $27,500 in city funds was delayed by the Board of Estimates after City Comptroller Joan Pratt said she had not been properly briefed and City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young denounced the project as “a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

The Westport Improvement Association also objected, saying the mural should be located to beautify the whole neighborhood rather than liven up a short stretch of I-295.

Last week, association president Ruth Sherrill withdrew her objections after the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts contacted her.

Promoting Pride

On Monday, the Westport Neighborhood Association chimed in with enthusiastic support for the mural. In a letter to the Board of Estimates, president Keisha Allen said the project has generated excitement throughout the community, especially after the artist agreed to allow local children help him select the mural.

“Funding approval for the Love Letters project is guaranteed to promote neighborhood pride and beautification, encourage leadership in our youth and attract new families who want to grow with us,” Allen wrote.

At present, a clear view of the Fitch wall from I-295 is blocked by trees. Kirshner says she is keeping her fingers crossed that the city will cut the trees down and provide landscaping to improve the sight-lines for motorists.

Because the wall is virtually on the same level as I-295 (as opposed to above the roadway), motorists leaving the city will get only a fleeting glimpse of the mural, trees or no trees.

With $27,500 of $50,000 in overall Love Letter funding approved by the Board of Estimates yesterday (Jack Young was on jury duty and did not attend the meeting), the spray paint is expected to start flying by summer’s end.