Thomas MacMillan File Photo
Gregory “Krikko” Obbott is planning a June museum opening now that’s he’s won permission from the Board of Zoning Appeals to open a home in the Hill for his massive pencil drawings.
He failed to win permission for a three-story addition he had planned.
Krikko, originally from Nigeria, is famous for his meticulously wrought pencil drawings. His preferred subject is famous American cities. He’s done cityscapes of Boston, New York, Chicago, and New Haven. Posters of his work are on permanent display above the escalators in Union Station.
In 2005, the city sold Krikko a rundown carriage house on West Street in the Hill. The agreement was that he would live there and use it as a studio for his drawings. Then plans changed. Krikko wants to have a museum there as well.
He landed in front of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) on Tuesday evening to request permission to create a museum in addition to an apartment and studio in the building. The BZA granted him that permission.
Krikko also sought permission to put an addition onto the building (pictured). The BZA voted to deny that request.
Krikko has been working on the building without permits, according to a City Plan Department report. He’s currently working with the city building department to address code violations.
BZA members imposed a number of conditions on their approval of the museum. Krikko may display his art only indoors, he may not sell it at the museum, he must submit a revised floor plan, resolve all building code problems, create a parking plan, and clean the rear yard.
“The rear lot is in complete disarray,” the report states. “There are large piles of trash and deep holes in [the] ground.”
Pencil drawing by Krikko.