Belmont CityWorks Mural

November 2020

9 feet x 24 feet

Acrylic on Cement

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This mural is located in the newly opened Belmont CityWorks building at 1401 E. Catawba Street.

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Discover the history of Belmont displayed on three walls from left to right. On the first wall, John Garibaldi carries water buckets to help fill the newly built water tank near the railroad station, later named after him. Also present is evidence of Abram Stowe, owner of Stowe Mercantile and town depot agent for the Atlanta and Richmond Airline Railway, which was constructed in 1871. In the top right of the panel, the basilica of Belmont Abbey, built in 1892, shines proudly. The cotton at the bottom reflects the town's basis in textile production and numerous mills. 

The middle panel brings us into the 20th century with a little bit of color. The Great Flood of 1916 is depicted in the Impressionist style popular at the time. When floodwaters rose, the railroad trestle over the Catawba River collapsed, sending nineteen men plunging into the water. By the next day, there were still six men stranded on wreckage, waiting to be rescued. After many failed rescue attempts, two men in a flat bottom boat paddled out and were able to safely rescue all the men. Peter Monroe Stowe and Alphonse Leroy Ross became local heroes that day. 

 

At the bottom of the middle panel is a portrait of Charles Jesse Reid and the school for African-Americans he built in 1918. On either side of the elevator you'll catch glimpses of textile magnate Abel Caleb Lineberger' s house, finished by 1921. Top left, you'll find a scene from the 1934 Strike at Knit Products, in which the military was brought in. Also in the top left corner, you'll see what is now City Hall, built as a Post Office through the WPA Work Program in 1939. 

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Stowe Park is featured prominently on the right panel in full color. Built in 1951, the park featured a concession stand, carousel, Ferris wheel, and a 300 yard long red miniature train ride that tracked along the perimeter. Present at the park today, are a tribute to WWII soldiers and the fountain. The Belmont High School Lettergirls are a prominent memory of many. 

 

The entire history is framed on the left and right walls with the two rivers that frame the town itself. The trains in each panel move with time itself. 

Click here to see a video explanation of my work.