*Artists Nick Capozzoli and Michael Ferrarell (Michelle Waters)*

Walking along Second Street, you may notice a bright, new addition peeking out from the alley behind Peoples Bank. To commemorate 100 years at its historic Marietta headquarters, Peoples Bank commissioned a stunning mural celebrating Marietta’s rich history. The new mural, a collaboration with the Marietta Main Street Public Art Committee, was designed by Michael Ferrarell and now adorns the exterior wall at the corner of Union and Second Streets.

The expansive mural is over 950 square-feet and features local landmarks, iconography, culture, and more. Even the texts chosen were pulled from local, historic documents, publications, and signage. Mural imagery includes a logo from the Elston Lumber Company, Mound Cemetery, the Historic Harmar Bridge, a chair from the Marietta Chair Company, the Hippodrome Theatre, Marietta Grindstone, Erwin Hall at Marietta College, Sewah Studios, The Delta Queen Sternwheeler, the logo for Lafayette Motor Hotel, and more.

Based in Chicago, IL, Michael Ferrarell began painting murals almost 15 years ago and has completed over 50 hand-painted murals since 2010.

“I was a doodler as a kid but was never encouraged to pursue the arts until I got to the University of Kentucky where I studied printmaking and learned how to screen print,” said Michael. “I discovered street art shortly thereafter and began wheat pasting my screen-printed posters all over town.”

Once he built a small name for himself in the street art scene, Michael said people began approaching him to do legitimate murals. “As time went on, I slowly transitioned from street art to sanctioned mural and sign work. I’ve been doing murals full time since 2021.”

Most of Michael’s mural work has a vintage aesthetic and contains a lot of nostalgia. “I really enjoy researching found imagery that’s historically significant to the location and reappropriating those images to fit a collage-like grid.”

His design process involves deep research and community engagement. For this mural, Michael collected over 500 reference images and materials that represented different aspects of Marietta’s history and collected input from hundreds of local residents through a survey shared by Marietta Main Street.

“Every town has their own history, landmarks, and claims to fame, however, it’s the local voices that can share the real story of a place.”

“I'm often painting in places I'm unfamiliar with or have never been, so it's integral to get as much local insight as possible,” he said. “Every town has their own history, landmarks, and claims to fame, however, it's the local voices that can share the real story of a place. The internet is a wonderful resource for information, but I want the inside scoop, I want to know what makes a community special for the people that actually live there and help bring that sense of pride to life.”

Michael began the install for the mural in late September with the help of fellow Chicago artist Nick Capozzoli. Despite an unfortunately timed week of rain, they were able to complete the mural in just over one week, often painting over 10 hours a day.

“I take a lot of pride in hand-painted murals because you’re truly adding something to the public space that has the potential to last for decades and in some cases, it might even last a century,” said Michael. “I’m a fan of all forms of public art, but when you hand paint a sign or mural, its longevity is undeniably greater than something that is drawn or printed and then adhered.”

Michael and Nick had the opportunity to spend time in Marietta a few weeks before they began painting and even tried the Harmar Tavern’s soon-to-be-famous fried bologna sandwich. “Marietta is its own thing. It really didn’t feel like Ohio,” said Michael. “It was something different in all the best ways.”

He said what he most loves about this mural is the color palette. “I really enjoyed being able to utilize an earthy palette that was inspired by the gloomy haze you’d find on a rainy day in an old river town. Dark greens and browns are complemented by creamy pastels and highlighted with bold blues and yellow,” said Michael. “I don’t always get creative control over the color palette, so this one was special to me.”

Peoples Bank hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce to celebrate its centennial and the unveiling of the mural on Friday, October 4th. The mural is the newest addition to downtown Marietta’s public art inventory, which continues to grow in part through the efforts of the Marietta Main Street Public Art Committee.

“When you’re in a place that’s filled with public artwork, it’s an indication that the people in that community really care for it,” said Michael. “Not only can public art bring people together, but it also invites visitors to come and explore all the things that make a community unique.”

Many thanks to Michael Ferrarell and Nick Capozzoli for talking with us about their work and letting us document their installation, and to Michelle Waters for always taking stellar shots and helping us celebrate our creative community!

To follow Michael and Nick’s future mural work, check out @anytownmuralandsign!