MIDDLETOWN MURALS
- Sorg Paper Mural is inside the Middletown City Building on the third floor and can be seen from outside through the glass windows.
- Shetter Carnival Mural is at 1028 Manchester Ave. on the back of the YMCA building. Done by muralist Eric Henn, it depicts the A B Shetter Carnival Sale on North Broad Street taken from a photo dated April 14, 1914.
- Miami-Erie Canal Mural at Central Avenue and Verity Parkway was painted by Henn and depicts life along the canal that followed the path of what is now Verity Parkway.
- Looking Back in Time Mural is at the rear of 2 N. Main St. on the back of what is now a Cincinnati State University building and is visible from Central Avenue going into the city.
- Cuban Landscape Mural on the west wall of Flowers By Roger at 1210 Manchester Ave. and was presented in honor of the artistic exchange program with Cuba in 2013. Lead artist was Brandon Johnston.
- Oshun, Goddess of the Street Waters, a second mural on the same building, is on the south wall of Flowers By Roger. Lead artist was Luis Eliades Rodriguez, a visiting artist from Barracoa, Cuba.
- Growth Mural by lead artist Brandon Johnston was painted in 2013 on the north wall of The Gathering building, 31 S. Clinton St.
- The Gathering on the west wall of The Gathering building was completed in 2013 by lead artist Brandon Johnston. People depicted in the mural are members of the congregation.
- The Mustard Seed Mural was painted in 2013 on an interior wall of The Gathering building.
- Gears Mural, designed by Sam Ashworth, is on the rear of the Middletown Historical Society Building, 120 N. Verity Parkway. The mural depicts gears and the Middletown Historical Society name.
- Transformative Union Mural was painted on a wall at Cincinnati State Middletown and featured the work of Cuban artist Osmany Piedra. It was completed in the fall of 2014.
SOURCE: Middletown Mural Committee
The mural committee hopes Middletown’s latest artwork installation is “music to the ears” of downtown visitors.
By this spring, a 2,400-square-foot blank wall at the corner of Central Avenue and Broad Street will depict several instruments and musical notes, a mural designed by Middletown artist Sam Ashworth.
The wall was primed over the weekend, and painting is expected to start soon and be complete this spring in time for the first Broad Street Bash, a free concert that is held throughout the year at Governor’s Square.
Two locals artists — Rhonda Gardner and Chris McCall — will lead the project, said Sue Wittman, director of the Art Central Foundation. She said community members and young artists will also assist with the project.
While the total cost of the project hasn’t been determined, all funding will come from private donors, Wittman said. Sherwin Williams has been a community partner on all of the murals, and no public money will be used, she said.
This will be at least the 10th outside mural in the downtown area.
The bright designs of the Ashworth mural, especially where many community musical events are held, will “make a statement” downtown, Wittman said.
Wittman has owned Artique inside the Pendleton Art Center since it opened five years ago. Her window overlooks Governor’s Square.
“I can’t wait,” Wittman said when asked about the mural.
Jody Bober, a member of the mural committee, is equally excited. She has watched as downtown has begun its revitalization and she believes murals play an integral role in that success because they attract tourists.
“This is part of the evolution,” Bober said. “(The murals) are all so different. They give you something to talk about. Another thing to bring people downtown. This mural will add to the flavor.”
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