Travis Orr sprays liquid foam between a wood covering and plastic coating the Salem Peace Mosaic in preparation for the mural’s move. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)

Saving a mosaic on the side of a brick building was a new challenge for most of the people involved in the demolition of Salem’s YMCA.

With the Y-owned apartment building on Court Street nearly demolished, local workers are in the final stages of preserving the community artwork that’s wrapped around the building’s base.

Workers previously cut the mosaic into sections, covered it in plastic and boarded over it to preserve the artwork as the rest of the building is demolished.

The final stage took place Monday, as Travis Orr with Orr Insulation sprayed liquid foam between the layers to hold the mosaic in place.

The artwork should be moved into storage by Jan. 3, field superintendent Jayson Valech said.

The Court Street Apartments near demolition on Dec. 23, 2019 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)

A worker with Benchmark Concrete Cutting cut the Salem Peace Mosaic into sections for preservation and later transportation during demolition of the Salem YMCA on Dec. 10, 2019

YMCA board president Dan Moore watches demolition underway on Dec. 23, 2019 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)

The former site of the downtown Salem YMCA as demolition nears completion on Dec. 23, 2019 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)

Travis Orr sprays liquid foam between a wood covering and plastic coating the Salem Peace Mosaic in preparation for the mural’s move. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)

Travis Orr checks the first segment of the Salem Peace Mosaic after spraying foam behind the wood exterior. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)

Travis Orr sprays liquid foam between a wood covering and plastic coating the Salem Peace Mosaic in preparation for the mural’s move. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)

Travis Orr sprays liquid foam between a wood covering and plastic coating the Salem Peace Mosaic in preparation for the mural’s move. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)

The Salem Peace Mosaic was covered in plastic, then wood, with a layer of liquid foam between the two to preserve the artwork as it’s moved. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)

News tip? Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

Rachel Alexander

Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.