The Writing on the Wall

In 1976, a wall in downtown Hartford became the canvas for a mural boasting the city’s name.

That mural, on the side of a building located at the corner of West Union Street and Main Street, was designed and painted by students from Murray State University. The building where the mural was located had to be torn down due to structural concerns in the early 80s, according to information provided by an Ohio County History social media site.

The new outward-facing wall remained a blank canvas for decades.

That is until last month when artist Aaron Kizer was commissioned by the city to create a new piece of artwork on the wall on Main Street on the side of the building that most recently housed Caper’s Restaurant at 214 South Main Street.

“We began exploring the idea last year after coming across a photo from the early 1970s of the mural on the same wall,” said Hartford Mayor Beau Wright. “The city thought it would be a good idea to explore getting a new one done.”

Kizer committed to doing the project and provided the city council with several designs from which to choose.

“The city wanted to put a twist on the old design instead of just recreating the one from the past,” Wright said. “We wanted to modernize it.”

The council approved the design and work began on July 22. It was completed on Sunday.

The goal of the project, Wright said, is to bring more “beautification” to the downtown area.

Kizer was born and raised in Owensboro.

“His paintbrush captures the pulse of contemporary culture —celebrating the people and places that his friends, family, and community hold dear,” is how his website describes his art.

Kizer has done several of projects in Owensboro, Wright said, including the “Cry Baby” mural of Johnny Depp downtown and the “Whiskey without Regret” mural at Green River Distilling Co.

The mural shouldn’t require any touch-up or repainting for at least 15 years, Wright said.

“I want people to be proud of our city. That’s the biggest thing I want to see,” the mayor said. “I want people to see that we love our city here. We might be a small community but we are proud of it.”

The project was funded with a portion of Hartford’s American Rescue Plan Act, known as ARPA, funds and is just one of the projects being done in the city to “bring it back to life,” according to Wright.

The city is also working to install speakers throughout the downtown area which will allow for music to be played throughout the area.

“We are always looking for options of what we can do to advertise our city better,” Wright said. “With the help of the federal money, a lot of these projects have been able to come to life.”