Syracuse artist finishes huge Valley neighborhood mural for City as Canvas series

A new mural has been completed in Syracuse’s Valley neighborhood, as part of the City as Canvas project, a series of eight city murals designed to invoke a sense of civic pride in city neighborhoods.

Syracuse artist Russell Mason designed and painted “The Valley in Bloom” mural on the North-facing wall of 4702 S. Salina St. He finished it on Friday, Aug. 2 after 20 days of work.

Mason said his design aims to capture the natural beauty of The Valley, inviting viewers to “cherish the harmony between nature and urban life that defines Syracuse.”

The mural shows the neighborhood on a clear day, with flowers in full bloom. It includes Webster Pond, the historic John Gridley house, the Onondaga Arsenal wall, and the JMA Wireless Dome in the distance.

The mural spans approximately 2,200 square feet.

“That’s a lot of paint,” said Mason. “The Valley community was amazingly supportive. I had a couple people offer to help me which has never happened before. This one kid was actually sincere so I ended up giving him a brush and he helped me paint some of Webster Pond.”

On the last day of painting, Mason said the city came to repave Seeley Avenue directly in front of the mural.

“It totally transformed the block,” he said.

The building at 4702 S. Salina St. has been vacant for about four years, and needed significant masonry work to prepare the wall for Mason’s mural painting. Owner David Hills plans to turn the building into a community center in 2025.

Hills said he loved Mason’s new mural on his building, saying, “It’s very beautiful, very impressive.”

This is the last of eight murals in the “City as Canvas“ series, celebrating the city’s neighborhoods.

The first one — Cayetano Valenzuela’s “And Still I Rise” mural on the West Side — was completed July 28, 2022.

The Valley mural cost $25,000. It’s funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Tomorrow’s Neighborhoods Today (TNT) applied for $250,000 of the ARPA funding to pay for the eight murals, specifically to provide relief to local artists who were economically impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.