Mural honoring Portsmouth North End's 'evolving history' to be part of new condo project
PORTSMOUTH — A new condo development that’s been approved for the city’s rapidly growing North End will also feature a mural paying tribute to the neighborhood’s rich history.
The mural will be located on the back side of the property at 70 Maplewood Ave., which backs up to the nearby CSX rail lines.
It will cover one of the existing electric utility boxes on site while also paying tribute to the city’s North End, according to landscape architect Terrence Parker, who’s in charge of the mural project.
The owner and developer of the property, Thomas Balon Jr., is paying for the “fabrication of this mural fence, as part of the ongoing mural project called 'History Through Art,' which seeks to bring awareness to the important contributions of people from all walks of life that are under-appreciated in our culture,” Parker stated in documents filed with the city.
“This mural recognizes the contributions of the community activist Rose Fiandaca during the mid-1900s, and the early maritime history of this property then known as the site of the Underwood rope walk,” he said. “The mural consists of images from these eras and a historic map.”
The mural will be located behind the new 4-story mixed-use building, which will feature 19 condos, including a penthouse unit where the owner will live, members of the development team have said previously.
The mural will be located near the sidewalk. In addition to screening the view of the utility transformer, Parker said it will help identify “the entrance to a public pocket park behind the new building.”
“This mural offers no distraction to drivers (is not lit internally or externally) on Maplewood Avenue and is strictly an art project designed for the benefit of the general public dedicated to the North End in which it stands,” Parker added.
The mural will be titled: “The Evolving History of the North End,” according to Parker.
“Near this site was the ropewalk, a long, covered lane where hemp and yarn were spindled and twined into cordage and rigging for Portsmouth's shipyards. John Underwood's ropewalk was later superseded by the railroads in the 1800s,” according to text that will be featured on the mural.
It will also pay tribute to Rose Fiandaca, who lived from 1893-1980, and was a Sicilian immigrant to Portsmouth, Parker said.
She was a “prominent community leader in and beyond Portsmouth's vibrant Italian North End, which was demolished in 1969 as an Urban Renewal project,” the text for the mural explains.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment recently approved variances the project needed to move forward.
During that hearing, Parker called the mural “a gift from Balon to the public.”
“He didn’t have to do this,” Parker added and said the hope is to have “additional mural fences” on the property over time.
“It enhances the character of the region by promoting Portsmouth’s rich history,” he said.
Crews recently demolished the one-story building that had been on the site, which is at the corner of Maplewood Avenue and Deer Street.
Balon Jr. has said the design for the new project was inspired by the North End’s long railroad history. The site was the former location of Boston & Maine’s Portsmouth rail station.
The new project is slated to feature commercial space on the first floor, with condos on the second, third and fourth stories, with a setback penthouse on the fifth floor.
Carla Goodknight, the architect for the project, said each of the condo units will come with two parking spaces.
“The units are approximately 2,400 square feet on floors two, three, and four,” Goodknight said previously when the project was approved.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Mural to depict 'The Evolving History' of Portsmouth NH North End
