The American city of Springfield, Massachusetts has been home to many public murals since the mid-20th century. In the 1970s, African-American muralist Nelson Stevens led the creation of more than 30 murals in the city. Many of the city's 20th-century murals later fell into disrepair, but interest in murals has increased since the 2010, and local organizations have created dozens of new murals across the city.
In 1910, American painter Robert Reid installed a mural at Central High School, entitled "The Light of Education". The mural depicted William Pynchon and the settling of Springfield. [1]
In 1937, Italian-born artist Umberto Romano and his students installed a six panel mural in the Springfield Main Post Office (now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Office Building) depicting the history of Springfield up to 1936. [2]
In 1943, painter Sante Graziani won a content by the Springfield Museums to design a mural for the Fine Arts Museum. The mural was painted in 1947. [3]
The oldest public mural in the city is Heritage, painted in the early 1970s by local artists Don Blanton, Paul Blanton, and Josephine Edmonds. It was painted on the side of Robbins Beauty Supply on State Street. The three wanted to create a piece of public art celebrating Black heritage and pride. [4] Beginning in 1973, artist Nelson Stevens led the creation of more than 30 murals in the city, many of which were created in collaboration with students and local artists. [5] [6] Four of these murals were painted in the Winchester Square Historic District. [7]
Between 2010 and 2023, the organization City Mosaic created between 40 and 50 murals in the city, with support from the Springfield government. They first began painting murals during the Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival. [8]
In 2019, the organization Fresh Paint Springfield also began painting murals, [8] [9] many of them during their annual mural festival in June. [10] [11] The 2022 iteration of the festival, which included collaborations with Commonwealth Murals, resulted in 38 new murals. [12] In August 2022, the city government announced they would be offering grants to organizations looking to paint murals in the city. [13] [14]
| Year | Name | Subject | Artist/s | Location | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | The Light of Education | Springfield history | Robert Reid | Central High School | since removed | [1] |
| 1937 | Springfield history | Umberto Romano | Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Office Building | [2] | ||
| 1947 | Arts in Springfield | Sante Graziani | D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts | [3] | ||
| Heritage | Don Blanton, Paul Blanton, and Josephine Edmonds | State Street | repainted 2021 | [4] [15] | ||
| 1974 | Tribute to Black Women | Black women | Nelson Stevens | Catharine Street | repainted 2022 | [5] [12] |
| Wall of Black Music | Black musicians | Nelson Stevens | Montorse Street | repainted 2022 | [5] [12] | |
| The Old, the Young, the Beautiful | Nelson Stevens | African Diaspora Mental Health Association, State Street | repainted 2024 by Jasmine Thomas (Commonwealth Murals) | [16] [17] [18] | ||
| Dr. Seuss characters | City Mosaic | State Street underpass | [8] | |||
| 2015 | There's No Place Like Springfield | Wizard of Oz characters | John Simpson | State Street | removed 2020 [19] | [20] [21] |
| 2017 | Milton Bradley | Kim Carlino | AW Gifford building on Lyman Street | [13] [22] | ||
| 2019 | Ryan Murray | Springfield Union Station | [23] | |||
| Travis Best | Damien Mitchell | State Street | [24] | |||
| 2020 | Black Lives Matter | Victims of police brutality | Court Street | |||
| Say Their Names | Victims of police brutality | Wane One and Souls NYC | Mason Square | [25] [26] | ||
| 2021 | Mason Square Library | [15] | ||||
| Wall of Fame | State Street and Eastern Avenue | [15] | ||||
| Gardening the Community | Ryan Murrary | Mason Square | [27] | |||
| 2022 | Wall of Advertising | Vintage advertisements | City Mosaic and John Simpson | Worthington Street | [8] [28] [29] | |
| 2023 | Carmen Callender | Park Cleaners, Orange and Allen Street | [30] | |||
| Be the Bridge | GoodSpace Murals | Plainfield Street | [31] | |||
| Climate justice | Betsy Casanas | [32] | ||||
| Miguel 'Pico de Oro' González | Vincent Ballentine | Jefferson Avenue | [33] | |||
| Ruth Carter | Commonwealth Murals | Rebecca Johnson School | [34] [35] | |||
| Springfield history | City Mosaic | Bridge Street | [36] | |||
| 2024 | The Madonna of Springfield | Italian-American and Puerto Rican-American culture | Nico Cathcart | Mount Carmel Society building, Winthrop Street | [37] [38] | |
| Self, Commonwealth Murals | YMCA, Dwight Street | [39] | ||||
| Milagros Terry Rodriguez | New North Citizens Council, Main Street | [40] |