One of New York’s largest murals is going up right now on 42nd Street

It is, by all definitions, a towering achievement.

A giant new mural is currently being painted on the side of the Westin Hotel Grand Central hotel at 212 East 42nd Street between Third and Lexington Aves.

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Probably the highest mural in Manhattan @gerada_art is currently in progress. Stunning view from the top thanks to @just_a_spectator 🙏#stopchildlabour #stopmodernslavery #ilo100murals #streetartmankind @ilo_newyork @iloinfo @westinhotels

A post shared by Street Art for Mankind (@streetartmankind) on Apr 14, 2019 at 4:35pm PDT

The piece is from multi-disciplinary artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada and—when finished early next week—it will be one of the tallest murals in the city, clocking in at a soaring 13 stories. To put that into a little perspective, the large mural of a firefighter that street artist Kobra painted in September was a mere seven stories.

Eventually, the two flowers on either side of the still in-progress work will extend all the way up to the 13th floor. Meanwhile, the main focus of the work will be the face of a small boy who’s two pupils depict images of actual children rescued from child labor camps.

Photograph: Courtesy BenL

Created for Street Art for Mankind, the work is meant to advocate against child labor and modern slavery. The mural is part of the #ILO100Murals campaign which will produce five pieces to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the International Labour Organization.

Head over this weekend if you want to gawk at the monumental work yourself (It's not that far from the Easter Parade!)

An inaugural event for the mural is scheduled for Tuesday.

Photograph: Courtesy BenL