Downtown Ashtabula Crosswalk Murals

In summer of 2021, the Ashtabula Arts Center led a community painting project to create murals in three of the crosswalks on Main Street in Downtown Ashtabula. Using traffic paint and stencils created by Visual Arts Director Nancy Nelson-Brotz, volunteers from the community took part in a painting party and transformed the crosswalks into vibrant images of swirling water and animals native to the Ashtabula River and the surrounding environment. This type of “asphalt art” has been used in numerous locations around the world to increase visibility and improve safety and wayfinding, as well as to beautify an area. The project was made possible by a grant from Dominion Energy, and support from the Ashtabula Downtown Development Association and City Manager Jim Timonere.