Remember when: Before there was a mural on the wall along Forest Lane, there was graffiti

Forest Lane mural. Photo by Danny Fulgencio.

The mural on Forest Lane has a long history in our neighborhood. Check out this video of the original graffiti on the wall in March 1975 courtesy of the SMU Jones Film’s WFAA Newsfilm Collection. Even AIA Dallas weighed in asking for feedback about the role of public art. The organization credited Mary Beth Neale, an art teacher at W.T. White High School who encouraged her students to paint a colorful mural over a 600-yard-long barrier wall along the north edge of Forest Lane between Midway Road and Rosser Street in 1976. Initially built by the developer of the residential subdivision behind it, the beige wall had been tagged over time with graffiti, according to AIA Dallas. Passionate about the wall and cruising memories? Check out the Facebook group here and info about Brent Herling’s Marsh mural project here.