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| Exchange Hotel at the junction of the Erie and Cayuga-Seneca Canals is subject of a new mural in Montezuma being painted by Muralist Dawn Jordan. |
The Town of Montezuma will soon receive the gift of a historic mural that
will highlight the Town’s historic canal heritage. The Montezuma Historical
Society has initiated the project on behalf of the Town for a new mural, and is
being helped with a donation from A-Verdi Storage Containers and a grant from
the Cayuga Community Foundation. A-Verdi is an owned & operated
business in Montezuma for over 30 years and is the premier provider of Storage & office
solutions throughout New York State. The Cayuga Community Foundation is a component
fund of the Central New York Community Foundation that assists non-profit
organizations with vital programs in education, health, social services, the
arts, civic,
environmental
concerns, and the preservation of historic resources in Cayuga County.
Mark DeCracker of Lyons, and creator of Mural Mania encouraged Montezuma to
join with other communities along the Erie Canal to share the visual story of
New York State Erie Canal history.
Today it is hard to visualize what Montezuma looked like during the
early Erie Canal era. MHS is providing the town with the mural to reconnect
with its sense of heritage and place, and to share its important story with
others. The original Erie Canal that joined with the Cayuga/Seneca Canal in
1828, and flowed through Montezuma have long been filled in. Gone are many the
businesses that lined the canal streets. Since almost all of the original
buildings with businesses that served the canal and community no longer exist,
there wasn’t even a place to paint the mural. When Joe Verdi, owner of A-Verdi
Containers learned of the dilemma, he generously donated a 8’ x 20 ‘ container
to paint the mural on.
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| Dawn painting the mural under her homemade awning. |
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Dawn Jordan, muralist, is painting the mural in A-Verdi’s parking lot on
Route 31. Dawn, a talented artist has painted several local Erie Canal murals
including Port Byron, Weedsport, Jordan and Lyons depicting Erie Canal history.
To help fund the project, the
historical society has held several fundraisers.
The mural is based on a historic photo of the Erie Canal,
the Cayuga/Seneca Canal, the crossover bridge, and the Exchange Hotel that
burned in 1918. Comfort Tyler, early settler and visionary, who built of one of
the first boats on the Erie Canal named for its namesake,
“The Montezuma,” will be painted into the picture. The mural’s permanent location will be at the
site where the Exchange was built in the 1830's located at the trailhead entrance
of the Montezuma Heritage Park on High Street. Future plans include the mural becoming part of a replica boat
façade of “The Montezuma.”
