A Delaware River Connections mural was unveiled recently on the side wall of the district office of state Rep. Joe Hohenstein.
The project manager was Barb Baur, program manager at Tacony LAB Community Arts Center.
Meg Lemieur was the lead artist, assisted by Cody Stuhltrager and Andrew Geller.
The mural, at 4725 Richmond St., features images of the area over the years – Lenape Nations, colonial and industrial times and the Bridesburg of today.
“This mural is beautiful,” said Mural Arts Philadelphia Executive Director Jane Golden, who is retiring next July.
The new mural is one of more than 4,000 across Philadelphia. That’s the most, by far, in the United States.
“We are winning the Super Bowl of art every day in Philadelphia,” Golden said.
Hohenstein said he has wanted a mural on the wall since he took office in 2019. He recalled that his brother John, an engineer for the state Department of Environmental Protection who passed away last November, supported reclaiming the Delaware River, adding that he hopes his brother is proud of all the work that went into creating the mural.
The mural features images of the river, a sturgeon and other fish, turtles, birds, a turkey, a wolf, a sailboat and Lenape paddling canoes. There are images of industry, the Betsy Ross Bridge, a father and daughter fishing and others playing music on a dock. The central figure is a woman with welcoming arms, along with four silhouettes.
Trinity Norwood, of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Nation of New Jersey, advised Lemieur on the mural. Norwood views the mural like a puzzle.
“That’s what makes it so wonderful,” she said.
Lemieur thanked members of the community who helped during a paint day at Bridesburg Recreation Center.
“It turned out beautifully,” she said.
Lemieur noted the detail of the mural, adding that every stroke of the brush had a meaning.
“May we all get back to the river,” she said. ••
