The impending demolition of the brick bus shelters on the Capitol Square is stirring up nostalgia and a little anger as area artists give the structures a "creative farewell."

At the end of this month, Madison Metro will be tearing down the existing shelters to replace them with ones that look more like the shelters on State Street - less brick, more glass. The cost of razing and construction is estimated at $792,000.

On July 1, eight artists painted or stenciled a bus shelter as part of "Destination," a project spearheaded by Melanie Kehoss, who just received her master of fine arts degree from UW-Madison, and funded by the Madison Arts Commission through their BLINK Temporary Public Art Program.

The "Destination" artists will answer questions today from 1 to 3 p.m., with each artist stationed at his or her bus stop. A reception will follow at The Great Dane, 123 E. Doty St.

One of the artists, Darryl Jensen, wanted his shelter to stare back at onlookers and create a metaphor about safety, so he spent 12 hours on the day of installation "painting 503 eyeballs with one stencil."

As he worked, he said, he struck up conversations with 50 to 70 people and discovered that everyone wanted to share their opinions about the doomed shelters.

"Many of them were very discouraged to hear that the shelters were being replaced. I think they're quite attractive. They're sturdy and stable," said Jensen, who works at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.

"I'm hoping they can donate the glass to my studio, but I have a feeling they're going to destroy them completely. Destruction is always easier than recycling."

Chris Petykowski, design engineer with the City of Madison Public Works, defends the shelter replacement project. He said the bricks crumble from the pressure of winter freezes and spring thaws and require frequent patch-up jobs.

Moreover, the "cavernous" shelters invite crime by being enclosed on three sides. The combination of dark windows and lots of brick create potential for a dangerous situation "if someone was trapped in there," Petykowski said.

The new shelters will be mainly glass, open on three ends and have "translucent, greenish-blue roofs," he said.

The Madison homeless community is not happy about the shelter replacement, according to Chris "Merlin" Conley, who is himself homeless and makes money selling Street Pulse, a homeless cooperative newspaper.

Although he overnights at a campsite, he said that many homeless sleep in the brick bus stops when they can't get into downtown shelters.

The new bus shelters with their "anti-homeless sleeping design" don't protect "you from anything that isn't falling straight down. It's a ridiculously dumb design," he said, adding that the new benches will have armrests every two feet, making them useless to lie down on.

Conley argues that the new design will only decrease the amount of crime "that people see directly." The resultant loss of shelters that can be slept in will cause more "homeless-on-homeless crime in the wee hours of the morning. And people don't give a damn about that," he said.

As for the bus shelter artwork, Conley said he wishes it would "stick around," along with the brick shelters.

Petykowski said many people "don't like the looks" of the current shelters, but bus riders waiting at bus stops around the Square Thursday evening weren't among them. They also expressed an accepting attitude toward the homeless using the shelters overnight.

Compared to the "little tin ones with the glass," Anton Allen said the brick shelters "look more alluring against the Capitol building."

Homeless people sleeping in the shelters don't bother Allen, who said he rides Madison Metro every weekday. "I'm from Chicago. I've seen bus shelters used for all sorts of purposes," he said.

Julia Stone, who was waiting for the No. 6 bus, said the brick bus shelters are original, just like the art that adorns them, and she sees no reason to replace them.

She said she has never felt in danger at a bus stop on the Square, and rolled her eyes at the suggestion that the shelters may invite crime. "I'm sick of theoretical scares."

Madison Police Lt. Joe Balles says crime does exist at the bus shelters but that he doesn't have any statistics gathered specifically about it. As for the homeless, he says officers don't usually issue tickets and "just try to keep them moving."

What bothers Melvin Hinton, who was waiting for the No. 3 bus at the corner of State and West Mifflin streets, are people who smoke at bus stops, not the homeless. He likes the brick shelters because "they look like something that's been built rather than prefabricated out of glass and plastic. They have more character."

He also appreciates that the artists on this particular shelter "left a space in the window so you can see when the bus is coming."

One of the goals that artist Melanie Kehoss sought from the beginning of the "Destination" project was to "socially activate" the shelters and get people to pull out their iPod cords and talk to one another.

"The space influences what the work will read as. For me, that's a handy thing, because my own work has a lot to do with public space, human interaction and awkward moments between strangers," she said.

Kehoss created her own design using Mylar plastic stencils and glue on a shelter at the corner of North Pinckney and Hamilton streets (near The Old Fashioned restaurant). The result is a narrative scene of two white silhouettes that wraps around the bus shelter.

Although she didn't realize the shelters were being torn down when she initially approached Madison Metro about the project, she said she's "glad they're getting a little attention, because anything that has been part of the cityscape for a while should get some recognition at the end of its existence.

"There are problems with them and they wanted to put in shelters that would be a little more open and airy. That's not my issue here. I mean, I would love to decorate those, too," she added.

Karin Wolf, administrator with the Madison Arts Commission, said that temporary art projects - like those funded by the BLINK program - are gaining in popularity.

"I've been getting really positive reactions, especially from younger artists. People like the surprise element and that it's affordable," she said.
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