Two approved murals — train station and Ridge Hill — await funding and installation

Two public-art murals approved by Needham’s design-review process are awaiting funding, the Revitalization Trust Fund reported Feb. 27.

Paul (Revitalization Trust Fund committee member) described a train mural for the Heffernan Building that merges a History Museum photograph of the original Needham train station with a historic train image. Design review approved the mural on the private building’s Chapel Street/parking-lot side; the committee is refining edge details and will add a tile row so the design stops about 10–12 inches above ground to avoid exposure to water and grit.

Separately, a mural for the Ridge Hill Reservation parking-lot wall has been approved by design review and the building owner. The Ridge Hill mural uses a 2020 photograph of the reservation and includes high-resolution photos of animals that inhabit the reserve, a trail map and a QR code linking to a short video in which Gloria Grice narrates Ridge Hill’s story. Paul said the mural aims to raise awareness of Ridge Hill’s roughly 300 acres of conservation land and encourages public use of the trails.

Both mural projects have owners’ approvals and design-review signoffs but remain dependent on fundraising. The Heffernan mural team is seeking funds and finalizing production details; the Ridge Hill project similarly awaits money to proceed to fabrication and mounting on the planned wall by the Walgreens property owner.

Committee members said the projects are intended both to beautify public spaces and to increase awareness of local assets; no installation dates were set.