Rivers: The Yale Corner Mural Update

In July of 2022, over 200 volunteers came together at Yale Corner to dream, design, and paint Rivers, the Yale Corner Mural Project. 

Under the guidance of Barbara Bickart , together with Andrew Dean, Jennifer McClory, and Deb Engel, the 100-by-100-foot ground mural transformed a sterile blacktop into a colorful River.

Springfield Avenue Maplewood was proud to sponsor this art gathering, together with Maplewood Township and NJDCA's Neighborhood Preservation Program. Sherwin Williams , at 1802 Springfield Avenue, even donated much of the supplies and paint. 

Sadly, Yale Corner was dug up last week, ruining the Rivers mural. 

So, what happened?

Yale Corner was always privately owned. The Township had the foresight to lease the space on a month-to-month basis; for several years instead of a vacant lot we had an event space, a market space, a gathering space. We invested a modest amount of money into the lot, thinking we had several years of use ahead but knowing that the owner could reclaim the lot at any time. 

That time came two weeks ago, when the owner dug up the lot to remove several underground storage tanks, which remained from its previous use as a gas station. 

We wish we'd had more advance notice, but we didn’t. The demo work took us by surprise. 

But we are still left with the memories and photos of that magical week in July.

We’ll be adding a Rivers mural page on our website. If you want to contribute some of your photos, please email them to Springfieldavemw@gmail.com

Photo by Chad Hunt

Photo by Mason Lev