Monday, October 02, 2006

Murals a Start

Mansfield, OH (population 49,346) is an old manufacturing town in north central Ohio. As I drove around the town, I could see the old vestiges from a better era. There were shuttered factories that once employed hundreds. Mansions, built 70 and 80 years ago were scattered throughout the town.

I always head to the downtown of a place like Mansfield. I can usually get a good feel for what used to be and the size and buildings in their downtown indicated a very vibrant commercial district from an earlier time. Today, it is in a state of decline with numerous empty buildings. There are some wonderfully unique buildings with great potential but many are slowly deteriorating with time.

One bright spot in the downtown area were a couple of murals that really caught my eye. One was a 3-D depiction of the town. The other was of Johnny Appleseed, a legend in these parts of Ohio.

Someone is trying to do something to bring back their downtown. I hope that they are able to realize the potential of a downtown like Mansfield.

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