photo by: Kim Callahan

The altered section of the Hobbs Park mural at 11th and Delaware streets on Wednesday, March 25, 2020.

A section of the mural on the stadium at Hobbs Park, at 11th and Delaware streets, has been vandalized again — this time to reflect a hopeful message during the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

The signs in the image formerly said “We demand equal rights,” “Food not bombs” and “Save the tree.” They now say “Kindness, compassion,” “And mutual aid” “Will get us through.”

Painted by Dave Loewenstein and some 30 helpers, the mural, called “The East Lawrence Waltz,” was unveiled at Hobbs Park in 2004. The mural was designed to capture the spirit of the East Lawrence community.

Contacted by the Journal-World Wednesday, Loewenstein said he had seen the altered image, but he was not too concerned about it.

“That mural has always seemed like it had a mind of its own, but considering the challenges we are facing and the positive message, I’d just (as soon) leave it as is for a while,” he said.

The mural was vandalized in 2016 when one of the signs was made to say “Stop Trump.” In that instance, a police report was filed, but the city never determined who had vandalized the mural or who had restored it to its original state.

The City of Lawrence owns the mural and Loewenstein maintains the copyright.