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The fourth, and possibly final, public mural commissioned by the Maryville Citizens for Community Action is currently being painted by Kansas City artist Bob Walkenhorst on the south exterior wall of the Maryville Florists store at 214 North Main.
Conceived as a commemoration of what was once a Maryville landmark, the mural's central image will portray the Forsyth House, an ornate late-19th century residence that stood on the east side of Main Street at the current location of the Citizens Bank & Trust building.
The neo-baroque revival structure, with its iron-railed hurricane deck and distinctive mansard roof, was the home of four generations of the Forsyth family. It's last residents were Lute and Bessie Forsyth, known in their later years for motoring around town in a small electric cart. An image of the couple, seated in the cart, will also be included in the mural.
In the 1970s, the house was converted into a commercial property and housed The Landmark dress shop before being torn down and replaced by the bank building.
Walkenhorst, who graduated with an art degree from Northwest Missouri State University in 1978, said he was commissioned to do a watercolor of the Forsyth House while still an undergraduate. The resulting painting, created from photographs after the house was demolished, now hangs inside the bank, as do other Walkenhorst watercolors of the Northwest Administration Building and the Nodaway County Courthouse.
Given Walkenhorst's Maryville connection, MCCA's mural committee, led by retired Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Alice Hersh, contacted the artist to do the mural. Walkenhorst said he was surprised and pleased to have received the commission and excited about recreating a part of Maryville's past.
"These pieces of history are with us, and then they go away and people forget they were here," Walkenhorst said.
"I think it's worthwhile to do things so that these people and places are remembered. It's nice to be back in Maryville, and I hope this will keep those memories alive just a little bit longer."
Hersh said results of a local survey showed the Forsyth House to be a popular subject for a new mural. When complete, it will join similar works painted on the building occupied by Pagliai's Pizza, 611 South Main, and downtown structures occupied by Jock's Nitch sporting goods and H&R Block.
The Pagliai's mural depicts efforts to bring the university to Maryville, and the Jock's Nitch mural shows the evolution of mascots and symbols used by the high school and university athletics teams. The H&R Block painting is a downtown street scene featuring famous people associated with Maryville, including writer Homer Croy, self-improvement pioneer Dale Carnegie and opera conductor Sarah Caldwell.
The fourth, and possibly final, public mural commissioned by the Maryville Citizens for Community Action is currently being painted by Kansas City artist Bob Walkenhorst on the south exterior wall of the Maryville Florists store at 214 North Main.
Conceived as a commemoration of what was once a Maryville landmark, the mural's central image will portray the Forsyth House, an ornate late-19th century residence that stood on the east side of Main Street at the current location of the Citizens Bank & Trust building.
The neo-baroque revival structure, with its iron-railed hurricane deck and distinctive mansard roof, was the home of four generations of the Forsyth family. It's last residents were Lute and Bessie Forsyth, known in their later years for motoring around town in a small electric cart. An image of the couple, seated in the cart, will also be included in the mural.
In the 1970s, the house was converted into a commercial property and housed The Landmark dress shop before being torn down and replaced by the bank building.
Walkenhorst, who graduated with an art degree from Northwest Missouri State University in 1978, said he was commissioned to do a watercolor of the Forsyth House while still an undergraduate. The resulting painting, created from photographs after the house was demolished, now hangs inside the bank, as do other Walkenhorst watercolors of the Northwest Administration Building and the Nodaway County Courthouse.
Given Walkenhorst's Maryville connection, MCCA's mural committee, led by retired Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Alice Hersh, contacted the artist to do the mural. Walkenhorst said he was surprised and pleased to have received the commission and excited about recreating a part of Maryville's past.
"These pieces of history are with us, and then they go away and people forget they were here," Walkenhorst said.
"I think it's worthwhile to do things so that these people and places are remembered. It's nice to be back in Maryville, and I hope this will keep those memories alive just a little bit longer."
Hersh said results of a local survey showed the Forsyth House to be a popular subject for a new mural. When complete, it will join similar works painted on the building occupied by Pagliai's Pizza, 611 South Main, and downtown structures occupied by Jock's Nitch sporting goods and H&R Block.
The Pagliai's mural depicts efforts to bring the university to Maryville, and the Jock's Nitch mural shows the evolution of mascots and symbols used by the high school and university athletics teams. The H&R Block painting is a downtown street scene featuring famous people associated with Maryville, including writer Homer Croy, self-improvement pioneer Dale Carnegie and opera conductor Sarah Caldwell.
Walkenhorst is rendering the mural in exterior house paint from the Store of Colors, a local home decor business. Rather than painting directly onto the brick wall, he's using a primed surface of sign-quality exterior plywood.
Hersh said the mural will cost around $8,000, and that about $1,200 remains to be raised. Donations can be made through the Nodaway County Historical Society, 110 North Walnut, which is acting as the non-profit fiscal agent for the project.
"I want to thank all the people who have contributed, either monetarily or with donations in kind, to make this happen," Hersh said, adding that a dedication ceremony for the mural will take place this spring.
