Lisa Wallace, right, and Angel Garcia, 13, setup the next panel to be mounted on the blue wall in the background at the Community Path of Lynn Mural. Photo by Paula Muller
By Leah Dearborn
LYNN — One Community, One Voice is building a path to a better neighborhood by drumming up support for a new trail in Lynn’s South Street area.
During a Community Day Bash held on Saturday at the end of Neptune Street Court, a 16-foot painted mural was unveiled above unused train tracks residents plan to convert into a pathway.
The mural was painted by nine participants in the Raw Art Works Good 2 Go program. It depicts images of the Underground Railroad and of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who moved to Lynn in 1841, according to the Frederick Douglass Organization’s website.
Bruce Orr, art director at RAW, said the mural is a celebration of Lynn’s history. It’s also part of a broader movement to bring new life into the area of the city sometimes known as the Brickyard.
Lisa Wallace, founder of One Community, One Voice, said the group was formed out of a perception that the neighborhood was being neglected and losing a community standard of living.
Wallace said that her fear is that with all the development happening in downtown Lynn, not enough attention or money is going into the older neighborhoods.
The multi-use path Wallace hopes to create would be designed to connect the area with the downtown to form a mutually beneficial relationship between the community and local businesses.
Wallace said her preference is for a paved path for easier accessibility and maintenance.
There are 11 miles between the Mystic River Watershed and the Nahant Causeway, said Ward 7 Councilor Jay Walsh. The trail One Community, One Voice wants to build contains three miles of that stretch inside the borders of Lynn.
“It’s not just a nature trail,” said Walsh. “It’s about transportation.”
With a new Market Basket being built up the road on the General Electric Factory of the Future site, Walsh said the path could become a an important byway for shoppers.
While Wallace said the path project hasn’t received direct financial assistance from the city, a number of local dignitaries including Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy and state Rep. Brendan Crighton were at the mural unveiling showing their support.
Anyone in Lynn who wants to make an improvement to their neighborhood can become a member of One Community, One Voice, said Wallace, regardless of where they live in the city.