Forty years ago, the late George A. Romero forever immortalized Pennsylvania’s Monroeville Mall as an iconic tourist destination for horror fans, filming his classic Dawn of the Dead inside the still-operational mall. Now, one fan has taken it upon himself to ensure that Romero is forever remembered inside the mall with a memorial bust.
Christian Stavrakis’ “Monroeville or Bust” campaign was launched on Indiegogo last month, and the fund has to date pulled in nearly $9,000 from 71 of Romero’s biggest fans. At the time of writing this, with just fourteen hours left, the campaign is just about halfway to its goal amount, but that’s not stopping Stavrakis.
As reported by Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Stavrakis’ partially fan-funded George Romero bronze memorial bust will be unveiled at The Living Dead Weekend this coming weekend, which is taking place inside the iconic Monroeville Mall. Running June 8-10, this year’s first of two Living Dead Weekends pays tribute to Dawn‘s 40th anniversary.
From the site, “The bust, which is about 20 inches tall and weighs about 60 pounds, is fashioned after photographs of Mr. Romero at the 1978 press night for Dawn of the Dead. The director is smiling broadly, in character for the big man many described as the Teddy bear of horror filmmaking.”
Now you’ve got even more reason to visit the Monroeville Mall!
