Boonton Opera House Mural Unveiling Ceremony

BOONTON, N.J. - April 27, 2017 - PRLog -- Boonton has a new mural that celebrates the town's 150th anniversary and rich history. The mural titled "A Love Letter To Boonton" was designed by artist, Rob Hessler and is located alongside the newly renovated Boonton Opera House. The official unveiling of this mural funded by the Cox Family and Boonton Arts will take place with a ribbon cutting ceremony happening at 6pm on Friday, May 5th at the Boonton Opera House entrance. Rob Hessler, the local volunteer artists, the patrons of the mural and Boonton mayor, Matt DiLauri will be on hand for the festivities.

In 2016 Ann and Pat Cox, approached the non-profit organization Boonton Arts about the possibility of doing a mural on the side entrance of the Boonton Opera House. The community arts organization puts on the annual Dog Days of Summer and Pumpkin Illumination events in Boonton and have already completed two murals for the town (a large billowing flag on the side of Boonton's VFW post 242 and a Dog Days of Summer mural at Church and Main near the Boonton Holmes Library). Boonton Arts president and vice president, Kristy Brucale Jach and Paul Jach chose the Savannah-based artist, Rob Hessler, not only for his incredible artistry but also his use of history in his work and the incredible amount of research that he puts into each of his pieces.

Rob presented three concepts for the mural to Ann, Pat, Kristy and Paul who unanimously chose the proposal that tells the history of Boonton through it's buildings and historical objects. Once approved Rob spent an estimated 270 hours on research and developing the final drawing. The design depicts five time periods in Boonton's history beginning in the 1800's leading up to present day. Each panel features how the Opera House appeared during those five eras surrounded by other buildings that relate to each time period. The foreground of the mural depicts several objects that refer to Boonton's history such as a trolley car that once went up and down Boonton's Main Street, a Q meter that was invented in Boonton, The Toxic Avenger's Mop from the cult classic B-movie filmed in Boonton and dog sculptures featured in Boonton Arts Dog Days of Summer.

When the design was complete the mural was hand painted by Rob Hessler and several Boonton Arts volunteers over two weeks from April 9th through the 23rd. "It was great that the painting of the mural became a community project featuring some of the Boonton area's finest artists generously donating their time and talents," said artist Rob Hessler. The crew went from 9am-9pm every day with an average of 5 painters working at a time. "This has been our most ambitious mural to date, featuring over 120 colors and a massive amount of detail on the 6'x46' wall," said Boonton Arts vice president, Paul Jach.

The mural is not visible from the street but is open to the public for viewing. It can be accessed from the Boonton Avenue parking lot near Main Street. "We like that this mural will be a special hidden gem for Boonton locals and art enthusiasts to appreciate for many years to come," said Boonton Arts president, Kristy Brucale Jach.