Mayor Lioneld Jordan points to a photo on a newly installed informational sign near the Walker Park Historical Mural in South Fayetteville.
Todd Gill, Fayetteville Flyer
Chances are, you’ve seen the brightly colored mural covering the outer walls of the handball court at Walker Park in South Fayetteville. Not too many folks know its history, though. Or, rather, the history it depicts.
A recently completed project could change that.
City officials today unveiled an informational sign that illustrates and describes the events and people represented in the Walker Park Historical Mural located at the south end of Walker Park, along the park’s outer trail.
Mural sign
JoAnn and Hank Kaminsky
East wall
North wall
West wall
The mural portrays the life and times of South Fayetteville dating back to the early 1800s. Represented in the paintings are over 30 people, places and events that reflect the diverse history of the South Fayetteville community including Roberta Fulbright, Archibald Yell, The Black Diamond Serenaders, Johnson’s Store, Tilly Willy Bridge and the Walker Skateboard Park.
“I look at this mural and I still feel what Fayetteville was like when many of these people that are no longer with us were here,” said project coordinator Lisa Netherland at a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Tuesday afternoon. “It’s so important that people know a little bit about our history and it’s really cool that it’s captured here.”
The mural work was facilitated by Artist in Education artist JoAnn Kaminsky with assistance from Eugene Sargent. Students from School-Within-A-School at Fayetteville High researched, documented and designed the mural based on stories and suggestions from folks at the Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center.
“I’m happy to see that this sign shows something about the process because it was an amazing process,” Kaminsky said. “We collected data, drew impressions of the stories, and rearranged them before we designed it.”
The painting was done by students at Fayetteville High and Jefferson Elementary and others including anyone who walked by and picked up a brush.
If you were walking through the park, you got to come and paint on the mural if you wanted to,” said Kaminsky.
The project was completed in the fall of 2005 after three years of work.
A PDF document with information about each of the stories depicted on the mural is available on the city’s website.
good job!
man, i love fayetteville and walker park.
Art murals for local history, very good. I will go to the park to see this artwork and the new signs about it.
More murals, please!
Murals that depict history are treasured. Murals that are actual history are painted over. http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2011/jul/06/fading-sign-covered/
that was a sad day for town art.
Pff, that was a shabby old corporate billboard. The coca-cola company has done a splendid job of creating a nostalgic air around their corporate logo. Meanwhile they have been a key player in turning our citizens into fat lethargic pigs. We have a sign ordinance for good reason, and to great effect.
Personally, I blame too many calories and lack of exercise for turning our citizens into fat lethargic pigs, but that’s just a matter of opinion.
Now if we can only get rid of all of those fat lethargic pigs running around town.
i agree with your general sentiments, but that was a pretty, old hand painting that was much more interesting to look at than a monochrome wall. i wish that we had more murals and town art though. i am waiting for they day they ok the retaining wall on s. college to be muralized.
I wonder how much the sign cost. Walker Park is the largest park in Fayetteville and also the most neglected. The trails in Walker Park are in need of repair, the trails running around the Senior Center need to have the existing vegetation trimmed back on a regular basis. the trails also need to be repaired as they are cracked and unsightly. The park has seen newly planted trees trashed again and again. Do we have anyone who protects the park?
I completely agree. I never take my kids to Walker Park because I feel more comfortable at other city parks. I understand the neighborhood around Walker Park is lower income, but so are the neighborhoods around Finger Park and Bryce Davis, both of which we go to regularly. The few times we’ve been to Walker Park my kids want to play in the sand volleyball court and I get nervous about what they’ll find. Never felt that way at Wilson Park though. Someone needs to take more of an interest in Walker Park, whether the city or the people that live around it. Parks that are neglected turn into dangerous eyesores.