Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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36 | APRIL 2015 nshoremag.com Lynn's pain and its glory are depicted in a new mural on the LynnArts Building in Central Square, the hub of this blue-collar city of 90,000. Three muralists, with input from residents and schoolchildren, have created an eye-popping, historic panorama of the last centuries of this North Shore metropolis. From the General Electric and shoe industries of the 19th century to labor unrest and burning factories to a celebra- tion of Lynn's abundant natural resources and its pioneering men, women, and children—it's all there. On the 60-foot by 60-foot exte- rior wall at 25 Exchange Street, a stone's throw from the commuter train stop and the Lynn Museum, passersby can learn all about Lynn's history. They will see Hiram Marble in his futile quest digging for buried treasure in Lynn Woods' Dungeon Rock. Astronomer Maria Mitchell is depicted looking through a telescope as she spots the comet that ultimately bore her name. Poet Vincent Ferrini stands dapper in his mustache and signature hat. There are diverse faces of children at study and play who seem to beckon viewers to enter the mural through a 3-D mosaic gateway of their own making. Every brush stroke symbol - izes the life that was and the prom- ise that is the city of Lynn. "It was a long process," says artist David Fichter of the undertaking. "Seven years ago LynnArts applied for a grant to plan the project and se- lect artists. LynnArts director Susan Halter got a grant from the New Eng- land Foundation for the Arts (NEFA). NEFA carried the project with three or four different grants and sup- ported it all the way through." After a national search, the team of Fichter, Yetti Frenkel, and Joshua Winer were chosen. They PLACES photographs by Lauren Poussard BY BETTE KEVA Lynn's Central Square mural paints a portrait of the city's soul. Wonder Wall The mural is located at 25 Exchange Street in Lynn. listened to what residents wanted and combined these ideas with their own. The mural would show today's youth in the foreground, and above would be images of Lynn's history and proPinent creatiYe fiJures Funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council's STARS grants ena- bled the artists to do "residencies" in all six of Lynn's middle and high schools, where they taught students the art of mosaics. "We would go to a school and ask the students what was im- portant in their lives," says Yetti Frenkel. "They said the ethnic foods they eat, playing sports, and being with friends. Kids made drawings and we put those into the design with a little reinterpretation. Once a panel was completed, we would temporarily install it in that school for six months to a year," says Fren- kel. "When we had the panels from all six schools, we installed them at the site." The result is the mosaic gateway in the mural's lower portion. Depict- ed on the panels are City Hall, Lynn