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WEEnosauras Rex mural in North Park goes extinct

An iconic mural in North Park has gone extinct.

“I knew [that] just like the real dinosaurs, street art as a whole is part of the game. Your piece will become extinct at some point.”

SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) – An iconic mural in North Park has gone extinct.

The “WEEnosauras Rex” mural that covered the side of the former Wang’s restaurant for years was painted over to make way for a new Target store.

Six months ago, social media was buzzing with a petition to save the mural, but this week despite the efforts and pleas of many the WEEnosauras Rex is now gone.

WEEnosauras Rex was created by New York based artist Mark Paul Deren, known as Madsteez. The mural had lit up the North Park strip since 2012. On Monday, he posted a picture to his Instagram that showed workers beginning to paint over his creation with the caption: “Goodbye old friend. Looks like Target won.”

Deren said he was initially upset six months ago, however, on Tuesday he said he understood where Target was coming from.

“I understand a giant WEEnosauras Rex has nothing to do with Target, but I think they were almost dealt a bad hand because obviously that was the only location that worked for them for whatever reason," he said. 

Target said it wants to have local artists add their own art to the wall. 

In a statement to News 8 on Wednesday, Target said: 

Thanks again for reaching out to us. Target has chosen two local artists to create artwork for its upcoming North Park store, set to open in 2019. Channin Fulton has designed the interior artwork and Kaori Fukuyama has designed the external mural to be featured on the side of the building. At the same time, we've professionally photographed the previous artwork and will archive it with the North Park Historical Society.

It's common for us to commission local artwork in or on our stores as we open new locations across the country, and we partner closely with local leaders to ensure our buildings fit within the fabric of the community. In North Park, we've connected with the North Park Main Street and North Park Planning Committee throughout this process. We've also gathered input from neighborhood residents through listening sessions and a survey, and those insights have informed and influenced the artists' work. We expect the artwork to be complete in early 2019.

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