MOUNT VERNON – Even though John Donnelly moved to Mount Vernon from his hometown of Philadelphia when he was 23, he feels like the midwestern city is his home now.
He’s spent the majority of his life here, after all. And after months of researching and painting history onto the side of McDaniel CPA’s downtown building this summer, he’s learned more about the city’s industrial past than most ever do.
Donnelly’s newest mural, which details Mount Vernon’s vast manufacturing history, was officially unveiled on Tuesday evening by the Knox County Landmarks Foundation. It is located on the West Mulberry Street wall of the McDaniel CPA building, easily visible for those driving into downtown Mount Vernon on Ohio Avenue.
“I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived in Philadelphia, so this is home,” said Donnelly, who moved to Mount Vernon in 1989. “So to take part in the heritage of my home now is great. It’s a great honor to be asked to do it, and to have the ability to do that.”
A crowd of community members and local leaders gathered to commemorate the city’s new mural on Tuesday, as Donnelly explained the thought process behind his work and local officials detailed how the idea for the mural began.
The “Mount Vernon Industry Mural,” as it is called, began with planning from the Knox County Landmarks Foundation Mural Committee. Carrie Hyman, the executive director of Main Street Mount Vernon who also chairs the committee, said that the 14-member committee began meeting in January to determine the best possible theme and location for the mural.
After settling on an industrial theme and gaining approval from McDaniel CPA managing director Renee McDaniel to use one side of her company’s building, the mural committee worked with The Ariel Foundation (which funded the grant for the mural), as well as the City of Mount Vernon, McDaniel CPA and Donnelly to determine what the mural might look like. Donnelly then sent in pre-drawings and ideas for all parties to consider.
While Donnelly improvised as he went along, the final painting features a fast-moving recollection of Mount Vernon’s industrial history. It starts on the far left side (facing the mural) with horse-drawn compressors from Cooper-Bessemer in the early 1900s, then progresses to the Continental Can plant near the middle.
The mural continues with a depiction of the old Pittsburgh Plate Glass building, then the Bridge Works Company, the Lamb Glass Company and the old-fashioned train station on the far right. In between factory scenes, the mural includes recollections of the oil and gas drilling industries, which played a crucial role in Mount Vernon’s manufacturing history.
Donnelly expressed on Tuesday that he wanted the mural to have large, recognizable images that can be seen clearly while driving past the building. He said he wanted the sequence of images in the mural to have a natural rhythm.
“When I started designing it, I wanted aesthetically for the piece to have a rhythm to it because industry has a pulsating, an energy rhythm,” Donnelly said.
During the three months it took for Donnelly to draw and paint the mural, he said many drivers stopped by to show their support. He said that one time, a man who appeared to be at least 90 years old pulled over to tell him that he had worked in every factory on the mural.
Another stopped to tell Donnelly that they worked at the PPG plant, pointing out the factory window on the mural near where they used to work.
Donnelly said that both locals and tourists have come to the mural to take pictures. He believes this happens because of the large, visible “Mount Vernon” text in the middle of the mural, which gives the mural a landmark effect.
Hyman said that this interactivity aspect has already been one of the positives of this mural.
“It brings people out for selfies, which are really popular now,” Hyman said. “So you can get people coming to your community, which builds commerce.”
Above the publicity, however, Hyman believes the historic mural allows Mount Vernon to reflect proudly on its illustrious industrial past.
“It gives a sense of community, so people feel like they are a part of what is going on. This is a historical mural, so as John said in his talk, there’s people that have worked at all of these locations, there’s people that remember their families or their parents working at these locations. So it’s got that historical aspect,” Hyman said.
“There’s just a lot of positive aspects to having beautiful murals in your community.”
Jeff Gottke, president of the Knox County Landmarks Foundation, hinted on Tuesday that there will likely be more murals coming to downtown Mount Vernon in the near future.
Donnelly has done two other exterior murals in downtown Mount Vernon over the years; he crafted the MTVarts Theatre Mural on 14 E. Ohio Avenue, as well as the Masonic Mural at 2 Public Square. Donnelly began by painting indoor murals in Mount Vernon, which he did for the Knox County Health Department, Hillside Veterinary Clinic and several area nursing homes.
Donnelly is an art professor at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. He said that his relatively free summer schedule allowed him to complete the project between the months of June and August, when he spent long days in the summer sun, crafting the piece.
In preparing for his most recent mural, Donnelly researched Mount Vernon’s industrial history through resources at the Knox County Historical Society. He also spoke with longtime community members and did research online.
Donnelly said that the process of completing the mural was gratifying – not only as an artist, but as a proud community member.
“All those were new to me,” he said, referring to several of the industrial landmarks on the mural. “And that was great, to really study that and become a part of that history.”
