Historic mural is first step toward revitalizing downtown Independence

by Erica Peterson

Those traveling through the middle of Independence along Brecksville Road the past few months have probably gotten used to seeing a baseball hat-clad man scaling ladders and scaffolding as he paints a mural on the south side of the former C & B garage building.

That man is 75-year-old Oscar Velasquez, the internationally known muralist, who the city commissioned to create the 96-foot wide, 16-foot tall painting of iconic Independence images.

He started painting at the end of April and expects to be finished by the end of June, weather permitting. But the process started long before that.

Velasquez, who lives in Macedonia with his wife Pamela, said he was approached by the city to do a mural about three years ago, when he was working on a mural at Macedonia City Hall.

“Then a year ago they called and said, ‘Let’s go ahead,’” he said.

Velasquez said he met a few times with representatives from the city and the Independence Historical Society, including historian Wes Gaab, to brainstorm ideas for the mural, in particular which historic structures should be included.

“They had a list of 30 or 40 subject matters. I got it down to 18 or 20,” Velasquez said. He whittled the list down to images he thought would work best for the size of the wall and for the downtown scene he was asked to create.

It took him about a month to sketch a rendering to present to the city. Much of that time was spent painstakingly researching all the structures to make sure they are historically accurate, he said.

Once he got the green light, Velasquez began putting paint to wall. The first week was spent laying out the piece, creating the perspective on the wall that he envisioned in his head. Next, he blocked in all the buildings. The next week, he added details to the buildings, as well as landscaping. He tackled the street, sky and flowers last.

Velasquez averages nine hours of work a day, 10 if it’s a great weather day, he said. “Once I get going, I really don’t want to stop,” Velasquez said.

Residents likely recognized many of the buildings as they were taking shape. They include old town hall, Independence Presbyterian Church, St. Michael Church, Nick’s barbershop, the Bramley House, the train depot, the old fire station and the city’s military monument. The sycamore “peace” tree near Riverview Road and the Ohio and Erie Canal can be seen at the far right.

Existing windows on the building have become the train depot’s windows, and Velasquez incorporated another window into the painting of the old fire station.

“I don’t like to have windows or doors that don’t fit in anywhere in the mural,” he said.

The focal point is the iconic green and white “Independence Welcome” sign.

The acrylic painting should last 20 to 30 years, Velasquez said. As an example of the paint’s longevity, he said he did a mural in his hometown of Pandora, Ohio, in Putnam County in 1991 and didn’t retouch it until last year.

Downtown revitalization

The mural is part of the planned revitalization of the downtown area, Technical Services Director Dave Snyderburn told city council at its April 9 caucus, and it will beautify the city-owned building.

“Year after year, [officials] said we are going to do something with [the building.] I think we have to start revitalizing downtown. I really do, and I just think this is part of the first phase,” he said. “I think this will really add a nice touch to downtown.”

Council member Carl Asseff agreed. “At this point, it’s an ugly building,” he said. “We could make it more beautiful with a mural.”

The project cost the city $14,800, including $500 for the rendering.

Snyderburn said he envisions adding benches to the grassy area in front of the mural to “make a little park there for not very much money at all. … I just think it will be a beautiful addition.”

Creative process

Velasquez specializes in historic murals and has created more than 50 of them, both indoor and outdoor, throughout the country and in Yugoslavia. Most of them are in northwestern Ohio, where he is from.

He graduated from the now closed Cooper School of Art in Cleveland and became a painter. He didn’t plan to be a muralist, but when he was living in South Carolina in the late 1980s, the proprietor of a McDonald’s asked him if he could paint a 6-foot-by-18-foot mural inside the restaurant.

“I had never done anything that large, but I said, ‘Sure I could,’” Velasquez laughed.

The mural was so well received, he was approached by the city to create a 60-foot-by-18-foot mural of 1880s-era South Carolina for its town hall. After that, he was off and running.

Locally, he has painted historic murals in Twinsburg as well as Macedonia.

Velasquez said he has no preference between indoor and outdoor work, but he especially likes working outside. “It gives me visibility, and it’s nice to have day-to-day compliments” by passersby, he said.

He has enjoyed his conversations with Independence residents who have stopped by. “No one has said anything negative or complained,” he said. “It’s been really positive here.”

Over the years, Velasquez has recognized a pattern of behavior while he is painting outdoors. The first week he paints, he is all alone.

“By the second week, people get curious,” he said. “A few stop to ask me what I am doing.”

By week three, there’s a pretty regular audience, he said.

And by the fourth week? “They start telling me how to paint it and what I should put in, almost like I hadn’t thought of it,” he said.

Velasquez said 99.9 percent of the comments he hears are positive.

And what about the other one-tenth percent?

“Whenever they tell me they don’t like it or what I should have done, I tell them that’s for the next project,” he laughed. “There are plenty of other walls.”

Featured image photo caption: Oscar Velasquez paints a historic mural to welcome those driving on Brecksville Road to Independence. The city commissioned the piece on the side of a city-owned building as part of its efforts to revitalize downtown. Photo by E. Peterson