The prominent smokestack rising above the Municipal Light Plant building on West Nationwide Boulevard will be receiving a permanent gold-and-black makeover courtesy of Columbus Crew SC.
The 165-foot-tall historic smokestack will be repainted to match the Crew’s colors, following an approval this week by the Downtown Commission.
The Crew said it has “entered into a lease agreement to allow (the team) long-term usage of the smokestack” with developer Brad DeHays’ firm Connect Realty.
DeHays is currently redeveloping the Municipal Light Plant building, which sits directly across the street from the Crew’s future stadium. The team’s new home is currently under construction and set to open next July.
“As a part of our plan, we created a new design that will illuminate our brand and be a complement to our new downtown stadium,” Crew spokesman Tim Miller said.
The mural, which is officially deemed an “ad-mural” by the city of Columbus, will have “Columbus” in large black letters painted on the north side, and “The Crew” in large black letters painted on the south side facing the new stadium, along with the Crew’s logo. The majority of the smokestack will be painted Crew gold.
There is currently a temporary Crew banner on the smokestack that is mostly black and has been up for about a year. Historically, the words “Municipal Light Plant” were painted along the length of the smokestack.
The smokestack will first be cleaned and painted, with the letters added after that.
If there is ever a change in the content of the mural, it would need to come back to the Downtown Commission, commissioners said this week.