EMILY IS BACK! WORK HAS BEGUN TO RESTORE AMHERST’S HISTORIC MURAL
Amherst's Historic Mural prior to demolition. South Wall, Amherst Carriage Shops. Photo: wikimedia commons.
Source: amherstma.gov.
The town’s iconic historical mural that was destroyed during the demolition that preceded the construction of One East Pleasant Street, is currently begin recreated on the South Wall of One East Pleasant St. Originally completed in 2005, the mural created by David Fichter depicted moments of historic significance in the Town of Amherst. The mural included portraits of Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Mabel Loomis Todd, Noah Webster, and many others and highlighted life within Amherst during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
This mural could be seen on the back south wall of the Carriage Shops until 2016. As part of the approval process for One East Pleasant Street, the Town required Archipelago, the developers of the property, to create and reserve space on the south facing side of the building where the mural could be recreated.
The original mural had to take into account windows, doors and other mechanical equipment on the Carriage Shops wall while the new wall was void of any windows or other such disruptions. Mr. Fichter took his original design, filled in the spaces where the windows were placed and added more depth to the mural by softening the top edge with extended vegetation and buildings. At the end of 2018, the Historical Commission approved the new depiction. Actual work on the wall began at the beginning of May 2019. After cleaning the wall and putting a layer of primer over the brick, Mr. Fichter created a grid on the brick to transfer the images of his smaller drawing to the actual wall. He is being assisted by two helpers and will soon have volunteer students from UMass to help him through the summer.
The team paints when the weather allows and the goal for completion is sometime in the fall of 2019. People are welcome to take a walk through the West Cemetery to see the progress taking place.
