Essen’s City Council decided to raise a new quarter in the so called Krupp-Belt-North. In the area between Bottroper Straße, Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard, Pferdebahnstraße, Haus-Berge-Straße, Zollstraße a new district with commercial real estates, 1000 flats and a public park with an open watercourse should be established. And as Essen has a number of 50 districts, the new one will get the prosaic name „Essen 51“. At the site of the former colliery „Zeche Amalie“ at Helenenstraße/Zollstraße, 2010 a Graffiti Hall of Fame has been evolved. Who cares, that these old historic colliery walls are home for the whole graffity community of the Ruhr Area? These walls are going to fall in the near future. Does anyone care finding a replacement for the current Hall? I am sceptical about that. However, a portrait of Chester Bennington, front man of the American rock band Linkin Park, painted by PALAS after Bennington’s suicide last year, has developed rapidly to a region wide pilgrim site for mourning fans. Anyway – the walls will fall and with them a lot of high quality artworks.
