Ellendale mural hits the home stretch
Committee members behind the Ellendale mural project took a few moments to enjoy the new artwork, which went up last week next to the Ellendale Café. Pictured with Mayor Matthew Bartsch, center, they are: Gwen Reiss, Barbara Mrotz, councilor Jackie Froman, Cynthia Nelson, Jo Lerberg, and Ed Reiss. Staff photo by Joni Hubred
It’s (mostly) all over but the paperwork.
Volunteers who have worked more than three years to erect a mural in downtown Ellendale finally saw the original artwork up last week. All that remains is to install a closed cover across the top and LED lighting.
“It looks amazing,” Mayor Matthew Bartsch said during a July 16 Community Gathering Place committee meeting.
Albert Lea artist Chandler Anderson painted the historic scene, which features Ellendale’s 1900 railroad depot, a train, and a street scene with pioneering citizens Thomas Brown, Ellen Dale Ives and Dr. E.Q. Ertel. The mural was created in sections, which are attached to six large poles.
The effort to replace a faded mural on the side of the Ellendale Café building began with business owner Gwen Reiss, who started fundraising three years ago.
City officials felt the art would be better placed on poles in the city garden, which sits next door to the restaurant. Bartsch said at the time that “buildings change hands. A new owner might not want it.”
While that raised the cost, the committee was awarded a $10,000 Southern Minnesota Initiative Fund grant–which came with a deadline. The project had to be finished within a year, which is up in August.
A few details will remain after the cap and lighting are added. The Ellendale Area Heritage Society is funding an interpretive sign that will explain what the mural represents.
Also, committee member Jo Lerberg said, the group needs to think about “how we're going to present this to the community. We can talk about that in the fall.”