For close to 15 years at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, a set of familiar faces smiling from a mural have greeted travelers taking the escalator up to the terminal upon their arrival in Atlanta.
Eagle-eyed passengers may notice that the image of children at the Centennial Olympic Park fountains no longer appears as they come up from the underground people-mover train to the domestic terminal.
“I was like, ‘Oh. Oh my God. That’s a little different,’” Jeffery Bidlack told Channel 2’s Audrey Washington.
The mural is now covered up by an advertisement for Porsche, touting Atlanta as the home of Porsche Cars North America. Porsche recently relocated its North America headquarters to a site near Hartsfield-Jackson.
“Porche North America is opening its new headquarters next week, so we wanted to partner with [the airport] and welcome them to the neighborhood,” said Reese McCraine, director of Policy and Communications for Porche.
A Porsche ad now greets travelers at the Atlanta airport in place of the mural of children at Centennial Olympic Park.
The Porsche ad is set to run through mid-June. After that, plans are for a new digital advertising screen to be installed in place of the mural.
As for the original “Spirit of Atlanta” mural by Atlanta artist Deborah Whitehouse, “We don’t know yet what’s going to happen to it,” said airport spokesman Reese McCranie. “We are in discussions now of what should happen.”
Some passengers are outraged that the mural has been covered up.
“I loved seeing that sweet, smiling face,” said Fran Jacobs. “It was very welcoming and I’m sorry that it’s become a commercial something now.”
Since the 70-foot wide mural was completed, children in the mural have become adults, but their young faces became some of the best-known meeter-greeters at the world’s busiest airport.
WSBTV
