NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley (NWBRV) and Riverzedge Arts celebrate the unveiling of the Mason Street Trestle Gateway Project with those who love the Fairmount neighborhood of Woonsocket.
Gateway Project: Celebrating Culture Through Art & Design
The Mason St. Trestle is a key gateway into the Fairmount neighborhood and it is where trash, neglect and graffiti have amassed for years. NWBRV and Riverzedge teamed up to address this issue and have created an eye-catching entrance and exit to the neighborhood for residents and visitors for years to come.
Teen artists from Riverzedge have designed and painted a mural on the most frequently graffiti-ed wall now meant to celebrate the industrial past and hopeful future of the neighborhood. They also designed a landscaping plan for the area that greets the public as they enter and exit the area. NWBRV teens worked hard on cleaning, clearing, prepping and landscaping the area as well as other locations throughout the neighborhood.
In 2014, both organizations worked with national consultant Michael Schubert to develop a marketing guide for the neighborhood that would promote home ownership and the revitalization of the area as part of a NeighborWorks America investment into the Choice Neighborhoods district of the City. Work also included a new logo and identity for the neighborhood: A Village in a City. The logo was incorporated into the site design and work is a direct reflection of the marketing plan recommendations for the area.
Riverzedge and NWBRV teamed up with the MLK Committee to install this memorial sculpture garden in 2012. The project was generously supported by the Citizens Bank Foundation.
Together with their previous project, the MLK Memorial Sculpture Garden, NWBRV and Riverzedge have begun to create a unique sense of place through art, design and community involvement.
Project Funding & Support
The project was made possible through funding and support from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation Community Safety Initiative (CSI), RI Housing KeepSpace, and NeighborWorks America Stabilization and Marketing Pilot Programs through NWBRV, and the Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island through Community Care Alliance and Riverzedge Arts. The project was also supported by the Woonsocket Police Department, Woonsocket Solid Waste Division, local residents, and neighborhood businesses like the Fairmount Foundry.
Unveiling Event Details
The unveiling takes place Wednesday, August 19th, 2015 at 11am at the corners of Mason Street and Second Avenue in Woonsocket. All who attend the event and those who wish to share this exciting new project are encouraged to take to social media using the hashtag #FairmountProud. Event organizers hope that the event will serve as the start of a marketing campaign that highlights the positive things happening in Woonsocket and one of its most diverse historic neighborhoods.
