VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — There is a colorful mural painted across a concrete Interstate 4 ramp that bookends the parking lot of Orlando’s The Holy Land Experience.
It turns out, though, that the park did not get the appropriate permission from the state to paint the mural and now the Florida Department of Transportation is deciding if it can stay.
The Holy Land Experience is a Christian-themed park near Mall at Millenia, just off I-4.
Wendy Maloney was at the park with her family and said the mural was a great addition to the atmosphere of the place.
“I don’t think it’s hurting anything,” she said. “It’s beautiful. I think it needs to stay.”
One area resident said she always enjoyed the park’s Christmas decorations and appreciated the mural, but if the concrete canvas isn’t theirs the mural should probably be taken down.
Requests for comment from the park and its parent company, Trinity Broadcasting Network, were not immediately returned.
The city of Orlando reviews all mural requests after they are approved by the property owner. Neither the park nor FDOT applied for approval of the mural, the state said.
Maloney doesn’t believe there was any malice on the part of the park in painting the mural and doesn’t see any reason to remove it.
“It wasn’t an act to destroy anything,” she said. “It was just something to beautify the area and I think it should say.”
FDOT has not set a time frame on taking action on the mural, but said the department has not made a decision on the situation.
WFTV
