Statements From The Harmer's Town Board and Ezra Berger's Family Re: Mural Preservation
Statement from the Harmer's Town Art Center Board of Directors. Statement from River, Darwin, and Zack Berger immediately follows.
Preserving Ezra Berger’s Legacy at Harmer’s Town Art Center
Ezra Berger’s murals are an important part of the artistic history of Graw Alley and Havre de Grace. Harmer’s Town Art Center recognizes that preserving his legacy is one of the responsibilities that comes with developing this site.
Why the Original Murals Could Not Remain
Preserving the existing building and murals was originally the Board’s preferred outcome. However, after evaluation by architects, structural engineers, contractors, and grant agencies, the building was determined to have deteriorated beyond the point where it could safely and responsibly be preserved.
The possibility of retaining the approximately 250-foot mural wall independently was also examined. Engineers determined that doing so was neither structurally feasible nor financially responsible. Because the murals were painted directly onto the masonry—and portions are already deteriorating and peeling—the physical walls cannot simply be removed and relocated.
Preserving and Reproducing the Work
Before demolition, Harmer’s Town intends to professionally document the murals at the highest quality possible and use contemporary reproduction and preservation technologies to carry Ezra’s imagery into the new Art Center. High-quality reproductions, cutting-edge technology, interpretive displays, and a dedicated presentation of Ezra Berger’s work and story are being considered so that visitors will understand both the art and its importance to Graw Alley and Havre de Grace. No reproduction will be represented as the original. The purpose is to preserve as faithfully as possible the images, the history, the story, and Ezra Berger’s artistic legacy.
The Art Center as the Preservation Strategy
The long-term preservation of Ezra Berger’s work depends upon having a healthy institution capable of caring for it.
Harmer’s Town Art Center provides that institution and becomes the mechanism that elevates Ezra Berger’s Legacy. A successful Harmer’s Town Art Center creates the audience, professional stewardship, programming, exhibition space, financial resources, and organizational continuity necessary to preserve Ezra’s legacy over decades.
The Board already recognizes that preservation extends beyond architecture. HTAC has committed itself to preserving and celebrating the artistic and cultural history of the site, including Graw Alley and Ezra Berger’s work and legacy.
At the same time, the Board must balance preservation with construction costs, operating expenses, grant requirements, programming needs, and the long-term financial sustainability of the Art Center.
Those objectives are not in conflict. Financial sustainability is what makes long-term preservation possible. If Harmer’s Town succeeds, Ezra’s work gains something it has never had before: a permanent institution charged with protecting it.
Future generations will be able to see his imagery, learn his story, understand what Graw Alley represented, and recognize the role his art played in inspiring the creation of the Art Center itself.
The original walls could not be saved.
But the choice facing Harmer’s Town is not between preserving those walls and forgetting Ezra. It is between allowing artwork attached to a deteriorating structure to disappear with time, or creating an institution capable of carrying that work forward.
The success of Harmer’s Town Art Center is therefore one of the strongest assurances we can provide that Ezra Berger’s work and legacy will survive for future generations.
The goal is not simply to remember Ezra.
It is to create the institution that will make sure Havre de Grace remembers him.
Statement from Ezra’s Family:
August 3, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Addressing: Harmer’s Town Art Center Board, Allen Fair, and the local community.
On behalf of Ezra Berger's family, I, River Berger, Darwin Berger and Zack Berger.
We would like to say we appreciate the outpouring of support for our father Ezra at the time of his passing. We would like to state that it is a RIDDLE. Our Father had something. It's not what you think. It's a personal matter. He was not upset that a building was coming down... but he had something, he had MAD TALENT. He had a LOVE for his community and a passion for art and artists. Asking why does not really help. Looking for reasons is not productive.
We would like to say that while paint and bricks are temporary, we feel that solid reproductions of his artwork, art studios, learning and community are forever. The Murals did their job by sprouting the seeds of possibility in the community. Let's focus energy on making a space where the community can gain understanding for art and creativity as well as supporting mental health awareness. A space where the community can LET WILD MINDS ROAM FREE AND EXPLORE!
We appreciate the help you have given us through our GoFundMe page. We would also like to encourage you to donate to Harmer’s town Art Center in memory of Ezra Berger and the creation of a studio in his honor. We also plan to have some reproductions of Ezra's work available soon, so please keep that in mind.
August 3, 2026 Havre de Grace City Council Meeting
Wayne Warner reads a statement from Ezra's family at approximately 45:10
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