GREENFIELD — Passersby may have noticed the downtown area looking a little brighter recently with the addition of a new mural on Main Street.
The mural, which depicts different ways people can reach out to one another during the COVID-19 pandemic, was installed at 188 Main St. on July 23, according to Community and Economic Development Director MJ Adams. Painted in the center of the mural are the lyrics, “I get by with a little help from my friends” — a reference to The Beatles’ song, “With a Little Help From My Friends,” written in 1967.
“I love public art,” Adams said. “You can’t give me enough public art. I think it’s terrific.”
The mural is located at the site of a building that was demolished in 2019, Adams said. After demolition, the city knew there would be a plywood facade there — one that could be used to host public art projects until it was decided what to do with the property.
The original plan was to coordinate an art project with the Greenfield schools.
“But then COVID happened,” Adams said.
That was when Adams and Linda McInerney, chair of the Greenfield Local Cultural Council, reached out to Jessica Marsh, 33, of Hired Hand Signs in Sunderland. The city had worked with her before.
“When there was the opportunity to put something up in the space, I wanted to do something that was going to have a positive spin on the tough year it’s been for everybody,” Marsh said. “I thought of this design I’d made already of: ‘I get by with a little help from my friends.’ I thought it’d be a neat idea to show a few ways to be there for a friend.”
The painting has images of telephones, a piece of mail and a mail box, and a flower.
“I just wanted to have something positive downtown, something that would bring a smile to people’s faces,” Marsh said.
The painting took a couple of days to complete before it was installed, Marsh said. Because of the pandemic, she worked from her studio rather than from the location itself.
“I was really excited to see it go up,” she said. “The light was beautiful. There was an amazing orange glow from the sunset and the sky was bright blue behind it.”
Marsh said the mural accomplished the goal she had been working toward.
“I think it did brighten that stretch of Main Street quite a bit, and that was the goal all along — just to bring a little sunshine to that stretch,” she said.
Adams, too, said she was excited to see the mural finally be part of the downtown and wanted to extend her thanks to Marsh for her work.
“I’m delighted that it’s there,” Adams said, who noted the mural reminded her of the music and hot air balloon festival that couldn’t be held this year because of the pandemic. “Just making that connection with the Green River Fest, and the message — it just feels very hometown.”
Christy Moore, director of the Recreation Department, said she saw the mural for the first time on a recent drive through the downtown area.
“The message, it’s all about community helping community … sending a letter, just reaching out,” Moore said. “That’s what we have to do to get through this.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne