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The Mural was unveiled with a ribbon cutting at Allendale Festival Day on September 20, 2025.
A pocket park design for the area in front of the mural has been chosen and will be implemented in coming months.
Pocket Park Design
Background
Thirty years ago, a group led by Stiles Thomas wanted to bring the community together to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Borough by creating a mural that highlighted aspects of the Borough’s history. George Takayama was the art director and the mural was painted by volunteer residents.
Now, three decades later, in the spirit of the mission of the original mural, we are once again creating a new, unique, and modern mural. The tenets are the same as they were 30 years ago, merging Community, History, and Art.
Allendale resident and sculptor, Simon Rigg is heading up this exciting endeavor.
Allendale Historian Fred Litt is providing input on the historical element.
Students of Hillside, Brookside, and NHRHS will create the design and ceramic elements
Images were applied with both paint and ceramic. The design is rich in color and three-dimensional. The mural features places in Allendale that will be recognizable to residents from ages 8 to 80.
The entire process was documented with photos and film for future generations to view and reflect on as an archival record for the Borough.
The Allendale mural project has result in a magnificent and unique piece of art that will instill a sense of community and pride and be a beautiful centerpiece of our downtown.
For more information contact
amywilczynski@allendalenj.gov
Located in the center of Allendale township the existing wall mural after some thirty years has reached its ‘use by date’ and requires a complete renovation makeover.
The mural has served as a visual historic reference of noted buildings specific to the Allendale community.
Initial discussions started pre-COVID, then delayed, we are now finally at a point to launch forward with the mural. Images now will reference not just the historic markers we all know in Allendale but also draw on the rich environmental spaces and indigenous wildlife.
The undertaking of this project in terms of design and certain physical elements of fabrication will importantly be done via education and community input.
The existing wall as it stands today will require restoration, removal of loose cement rendering, rerendered where required, weather priming and undercoating, detailing to clean up existing cable and wires, and securing loose brickwork if needed. A pre-structural inspection will take place and make the necessary recommendations addressing all of the above items mentioned.
The wall will then be primmed and a new painted mural will be applied in conjunction with panels of handmade ceramic tiles built-in relief forms. (refer to example ceramic images).
The designs of both the mural and the ceramic elements come under the educational component, this being the three schools of Allendale, Hillside, Brookside, and Northern Highlands.
It is expected that by late October a meeting will take place between all relevant teachers from the three schools to discuss the new mural and from this, teachers will nominate classes that could possibly participate.
Once nominated classes are established, an introductory class will be separately given to all three schools providing information about the wall and what the student participation will be. Focusing on history, environment, and community, the students will put ideas forward to design both the painted mural and the ceramic image elements.
Roles, application, and installation by who?
Painted Wall Mural:
In terms of the painted mural, the student's input from a classroom environment will determine much of what is painted on the wall, the theme elements will be history, environment, and community. The actual installation of the painted wall mural will be by a professional artist or artists who have a resume to undertake the project. The paint quantity used in the mural will be sourced as what is the best for longevity and the test of time.
Ceramic Elements:
The ceramic component for this project comes under the hands of the students across all three schools. Under the guidance of Simon Rigg (sculptor), classes will be taken in school to physically build the relief panels and paint them in color glazes. The timeline of the ceramic build will need to be programmed in with the school and it is expected about 65-70% will be done by the students. The remaining percent will be completed by Simon Rigg either during or out of the school environment. Details of how this will all take place will come out of the initial meeting with all the teachers involved. All the ceramic tiles will be removed from the school to dry in another location, the process will be once dry they will be kiln-fired. A second kiln firing will be required after applying a clean gloss gaze over all the handmade tiles.
How Are the Ceramic Elements Applied to the Wall?
As the existing vacant block is privately owned, all the work applied to the wall in relation to the ceramic tiles will be installed on prefabricated stainless steel paneled forms. The purpose of this is that if any time the vacant land has another use, they can be removed as completed panels. There will be some ceramic tiles adhered to the wall but only in small sections to help make a transition from the painted mural to the raised installed ceramic panels.
Detail drawings of the proposed concept will be made available at a later date.
Installation of the ceramic panels will be by others and not the students.
The blend of the images from the painted mural to the ceramic tiles must flow as one whole design and established in the first part of the planning stage with the student's input.
What Will We See?
Example images applied in both paint and ceramic will show the historic buildings such Fell House, Allendale Railway Station, Red Barn, Crestwood Lake, and the Celery Farm. As well as indigenous wildlife and plant forms, red hawks, snapping turtles, and wildflowers. Text and photograph images can also be allied to the ceramic or painted surfaces.
The finished look of all the mural images both in paint and ceramic must be rich in color, visually clear, and completing a central location in the town that is currently in disrepair. It is expected that lighting will be installed and the available green area of the vacant block be re-landscaped with seating. A plaque may be installed noting the community support for the project.
Timeline:
The project is large and requires careful planning but it is expected to be started and completed in this current school year. The detailed timeline is underway and it is expected that student class involvement in the ceramic fabrication could be by early Spring and all the kiln firings completed close to the end of the school year. Actual wall installation (by others) will commence in the later part of the school year and may move into the summer period. All timelines will be detailed once we have all the feedback from the three schools and the teachers’ recommendations on participating classes.
Final Note:
The existing Allendale mural has always been a source of reference to the town’s residents and even those not from town who flow through. With the increased restaurant activity now flowing onto the main street for dining, this wall has now become even more visual and the condition as it stands does not complete the picture of the township of Allendale. The mural project as proposed now will uplift the visual central location of the main street and establish a sense of community pride and empowerment for all students who took part in the design and build.
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Borough of Allendale
500 W Crescent Ave
Allendale, NJ 07401
Phone
(201) 818-4400