WEATHERED WONDER WALL: At age 10, Whaling Wall shows signs of age, but it has ‘more years to come' (PHOTOS and VIDEO)

After 10 years exposed to the Florida sunshine and salty breeze coming off the gulf, the Whaling Wall at Legendary Marina is starting to show signs of its age. But for Peter Bos, a little wear isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Murals aren’t perfect. They don’t have to be,” said the CEO of Legendary Inc.

Beginning a decade ago on Oct. 9, 2001, every inch of the brand new 71,560 square-foot facility was turned into a canvas for environmental artist Robert Wyland.

TO SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THE WHALING WALL, CLICK HERE.

The internationally recognized painter chose the site while in Destin visiting his art gallery. The original idea was to paint only one wall, but soon the plan grew to include every side of the marina, including the roof. In the aftermath of 9/11, Wyland decided to paint a huge American flag with the words, “Welcome Home, God Bless America” as a sign of gratitude to the men and women flying back to the states. 

“Still to this day airmen will fly overhead and rock their wings back and forth to say thank you,” Bos said.

Volunteers from the community and abroad helped transform the gray building into blue water, while Wyland manned the spray gun bringing sea creatures to life with each spray of paint.

“He would stand a foot away and he would paint a whale with perfect shape, perfect proportions and perfect length. He never stepped back to check his work… He’s a very gifted individual,” said Bos, who helped hold ladders and drag cords.

“It was a huge production… I still have the spray can he used in my office.”

But Bos said the best part of the experience was the children.

“For me, it was exciting. But for many of those kids, it was their first time being exposed to an artist like that and to watch it happen. Wyland has a great way of communicating.”

Superintendent of Schools Alexis Tibbetts says it hardly seems like it has been 10 years since the wall was painted. At the time, she was the principal of Destin Middle School and helped organize students from across the county to visit the wall while Wyland brought the building to life.

“It was a learning experience for the students prior to the field trip, but it was amazing for the students to watch Wyland paint,” she said.

Mary Muller Coerver was a volunteer at the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge’s booth during the process.

“During my shift to volunteer, Wyland came by and talked to me. I told him I was one of the rescuers with the nine beached pilot whales we had just had,” she wrote to The Log on Facebook. “He went and changed the already-made drawing to put the nine pilot whales into the mural. Later, when I gave him a hug to thank him, he said, ‘that's what it is all about.’ It was a very emotional moment for me.”

After 28 days of working sunrise to sunset and with the help of more than 1,000 volunteers, Wyland completed his 88^th Whaling Wall.

“The spirit of Destin is in this wall," Wyland said at the time.

 And that spirit lives on.

“Marinas are typically buildings that are not very attractive, kind of like a gas station,” Bos said. “Wyland took a building that was OK and turned it into something better.”

Today, the whales, sea turtles and stingrays of the mural still swim alongside the boats sitting in the parking lot at the marina despite their fading colors.

“The south wall is the worst because of the sun, but the arrival wall still looks pretty good,” Bos said. But as for Wyland coming back to touch-up the Whaling Wall, he says that’s a lot to ask.

“It’s lasted 10 years now and it has some more years to come.”