09/05/2026
This is not okay. Please let your representatives know how you feel.
Say goodby to our window art. It's been fun, but the city is forcing our windows bare.
The Salem Redevelopment Authority has told several businesses in the SRA district that window art must come down by November 8 or we may face fines.
This isn’t just about Gulu. Do you like the window art at Curly Girl, HausWitch, and New England Soup Factory? The murals and paintings that make walking down Essex and Washington Streets feel like Salem? Sorry. Apparently those windows need to be bare too. Others are also impacted.
For years, businesses like ours have worked with local artists to turn our windows into something more than glass and advertising. At Gulu, the previous owners embraced this, and we’ve been proud to carry it forward. We pay artists. We give them space. They make downtown more colorful, interesting, and more Salem. Now we’re being told that has to stop.
Yes, the SRA has a process to potentially approve window art, but its restrictions are so limiting that, for us, the process is untenable.
I personally believe this raises serious questions about free speech. But even putting that aside, it’s incredibly sad to watch an agency charged with improving downtown Salem use its authority to remove art from it. The SRA was created decades ago to address blight and deterioration downtown. Artists, independent businesses, and the creative community helped transform Salem into what it is today. Art is not blight. It is part of Salem’s character.
And I fear what comes next. If painted windows are a problem, where does this stop? Is the entrance arch at Tomb next? The Viking ship at Coven’s Cottage? What other art, sculpture, or creative expression eventually runs afoul of rules the SRA enforces inconsistently? We’re staring down a slippery slope, and for what end? The result seems to be less art, fewer opportunities for local artists, and a downtown that is plainer and less interesting.
So unless something changes, our window mural, and many others throughout downtown Salem, will come down by November 8. If you don't like this move by the SRA, I encourage you to email [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected].
