COMING TO LIFE

More than three years after the idea first formed, a new Ellendale mural will soon come to life.

Artist Chandler Anderson, who grew up in Albert Lea, will begin painting the downtown centerpiece within a week. Though the mural has a final resting spot near the existing community garden, Anderson will complete the artwork inside the Ellendale Community Building, just across the street.

An informational open house was held there last week, giving residents the opportunity to see the plans, ask questions, and meet the artist.

He was commissioned to create the original design nearly two years ago, but a lot has changed since then, something Anderson said is to be expected.

What was once proposed to hang on the east side of the building that houses the Ellendale Café – a privately owned building – has become a free-standing backdrop for a second project: The Community Gathering Place.

The mural will sit in the southwest corner of the lot at Second Avenue South and the city’s main thoroughfare, Fifth Avenue/Minnesota Highway 30. The piece will be angled to face the northeast, to be visible from the north, east, and west.

The existing mural long ago faded nearly completely away, thanks to years of exposure to the strong east sun.

“As the (Gathering Place) committee and I sat and talked, there was a shifting of where it was going to be,” Anderson said of the artwork. “It evolved to what it is now, and I think we have a really good plan that we’ve arrived at.”

It will be a 12-foot-by-20-foot mural featuring a vignette from early 1900s Ellendale. Anderson is using high-grade, all-weather panels, as well as high-quality paint. The art will be sealed, with an additional clear coat added to protect it from the elements.

Anderson and the committee fielded questions about possible vandalism, the artwork’s durability, insurance and upkeep.

His goal is to work on the piece throughout February, with an early March completion date.

“Once I get going on a project, I stay on it,” Anderson said.

That means if people happen to stop by the Community Building, he may not pay them much attention.

“I understand that people are excited,” he said, “and want to see the progression. I’m just somebody who likes to work through my problem-solving and think … so I can’t concentrate on anything but this.”

In a perfect world, Anderson smiled, “I’d like to unveil (the work), but I also realize that can’t always be the way it is, and these people are interested.”

While it’s the mural and the artist’s process that have drawn the most attention, it’s the rest of the project that the Gathering Place committee has focused on.

“It’s not just a mural – it’s a place,” said Jo Lerberg, a co-chair of the group. “I’m hoping they’ll see that it’s much more than that. I see it as an extension of this building, to be able to open the doors” and let people flow naturally between the two community spaces.

The committee envisions a place to hold a farmers market downtown, as well as vendors for the city’s spring and fall festivals.

The second phase of the project includes plans for a courtyard with engraved brick pavers, benches, and a new bandstand, providing more opportunities for the community to gather.

The first phase is the mural, a sign explaining its significance, and a bit of landscaping.

The committee received a $10,000 grant from Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation in August. The money is to be used toward supplies, printing, and installation costs.

Anderson’s fee isn’t included, but an anonymous donation last week put the amount raised at $8,250 – covering the first installment of the total cost.

“This project is special to me,” said Dan Nelson, but not just because he’s a member of the Gathering Place committee and the Ellendale Heritage Society.

“The land Ellendale sits upon was purchased from my great-great-grandmother, Anna Ellingson, and my family has lived here since 1869,” he said.

In addition to beautifying the space and connecting it to the existing garden, Nelson believes the area will be “a great addition to inspire and educate our community about our shared past, so the spirit of Ellendale is alive for years to come.”

The Heritage Society has donated to the Gathering Place fund and is collaborating with the committee to move the project forward.

“If you knew what this town used to be…” Lerberg said. Her grandfather started Lerberg’s Grocery and Dry Goods in 1901, a year after the town was settled. It went on to boast three hotels, two banks, two mercantiles, restaurants and more.

Even with 10 “thriving” businesses in town, she said, “we need to look at revitalization, and this is a good start.”