Over the last year or so, the concrete slab on the corner of Houston and Bowery has taken on several unique incarnations. HOST18 and TABOO painted some illegal pieces on the wall in November 2006. Unfortunately they were soon covered up with a legal mural by JACE, who was in town to paint 11 Spring Street. HOST18 and TABOO had their final word over the mural and 11 Spring Street for that matter. MISS 17 and REMO came along and bombed it too, before the legal OMNI mural went up.

Now, a Keith Haring mural that lived on the slab for a brief time in the early ‘80s is making a comeback. The Keith Haring Foundation and Deitch Projects are working to recreate the fluorescent mural to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Haring’s birth on May 4th.

“The concept of recreating a mural is not necessarily something we would ordinarily agree to,” Ms. Gruen said, noting the technical resources needed to re-create, as opposed to simply restore or repair, an artwork. “It was really the fact that the wall still exists that made this so attractive.”

The mural, Haring’s first major outdoor project, existed for a few months before its Day-Glo colors began to fade under the sun. Haring then painted over the work, destroying his own creation before it could further decompose.

Several artists were at work on the mural this morning, and it looks like they’ll be finished this week.

The NY Times highlights a largely unknown Keith Haring mural in a convent stairwell on the Upper West Side.

Mr. Haring painted it on a Saturday night in March of 1983 or 1984. More than 50 kids were staying at Grace House for a retreat, and a handful watched Mr. Haring work. In all, it took less than an hour and a half.

“It was mesmerizing to watch him, and for me, I was very proud of having him there doing that,” said Mr. Soto, who is now a party promoter. “I felt like it was for us.”

Kinah Ventura, another member of Grace House, remembers the night vividly. “For kids who were into graffiti,” she said, “it was a different spin on what art is and what art is about, especially because he was so positive.”

Pretty cool. Hopefully they can cash in before a band of art thieves attempts to rip the wall out.

Photo by Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times.