Allan Appel Photo
Fair Haven was originally called Dragon Point. That’s how early sailors to the harbor identified the seals that sunned themselves about where the Grand Avenue Bridge now spans the Quinnipiac River.
On Saturday afternoon along two perpendicular walls at the back of Lewis Park, 30 Fair Haveners of all ages were busy painting a new mural bridging the history from those days through the Civil War’s Underground Railroad stop beneath Pilgrim Church and up to the present day with the farmers market, complete with its burrito stand.
Over a year in the planning, along with several sketching workshops this summer that solicited the ideas of local kids and grown-ups, the mural was nearing completion Saturday afternoon.
The project, organized by the Chatham Square Neighborhood Association, is under the direction of local graphic artist Krista Abbott.
“It’s the timeless elements of the past, present,” that they wanted to be sure to be contained in the mural, said Abbott.
By that she meant the beauty of the river and the beauty of the different people who have continued to live along the shore all these years.
Click on the play arrow for a tour of the nearly completed mural provided by one of the young artists, Josiah Janke of Downing Street.