POTTSTOWN PA – The 14th and latest addition to the borough’s signal box mural program has been completed in front of the McDonald’s restaurant at 1428 E. High St., the Pottstown Area Regional Recreation Committee reports.
The new mural was painted by artist Ruth Drake, and features a bright array of colors and scenes reminiscent of summer. It is Drake’s first signal box mural, easily found at the corner of Rosedale Drive and High Street. With colder weather approaching, her effort is the last in this year’s mural campaign.
Drake’s painted signal box “shows a stylized landscape with a blue sky, bright yellow sun, and birds perched on telephone wires,” according to the committee’s fall newsletter distributed last week.
“Hills in dark green also fill the middle, while a row of arched bridges adds structure to the scene. At the base, yellow flowers bring a pop of color and balance,” the newsletter description states.
The project was fully funded by a private donor, according to the committee.
The new installation “officially wraps up” the committee’s 2025 mural season, it acknowledges. Others may be on the way next year, it hints. “Keep an eye out for more beautiful and exciting artwork that may pop up around town” during 2026, representatives suggest.
Murals Began Appearing in 2023
The mural program began in 2023, and has since been continued annually. Travels With The Post published a story during January 2024 that highlighted seven completed murals on what were once vacant walls, metal-clad boxes, and small towers. Read the earlier story here.
Those projects seemed to make life a bit more exciting, or at least eye-opening, everywhere they were installed.
Think you’ve got what it takes to be selected as a signal box mural artist? The committee invites you to show your stuff!
A notice on its website landing page “invites artists to apply” to create fresh new scenes on otherwise drab utility boxes located across the borough. The goal, it explains, “is to use all four sides” of the boxes to display art “that enhances Pottstown’s visual surroundings.”
Artists chosen to create a mural are paid for their time and materials. They also get to enjoy the “wow” factor their artwork adds to neighborhoods.
Designs must be submitted to a group designated to make project selections. Find more information and an application form online. Those chosen are asked to heed specific guidelines in preparing surfaces for paint, as well as for other coatings to be used.
For more information, call the committee office at 484-945-0200, or send it an e-mail to parrcoordinator@gmail.com.
The committee includes eight municipalities in the Pottstown Metropolitan Region, working with the Pottstown Regional Community Foundation and the Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area. Its mission is to advance planning, development and maintenance of parks, trails, and recreational facilities, and encourage open space preservation.
Photos provided by the Pottstown Area Regional Recreation Committee
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