By Lorna Garey
Well before the Orange Line, the rumble of the railroad was the heartbeat of Malden. Now, that history is celebrated in brilliant color and on a grand scale as a sweeping new mural transforms a prominent wall at the corner of Summer St. and Pleasant St. into a tribute to Malden’s nearly 180 years as a rail hub.
The artwork, unveiled this week, is a collaboration between arts nonprofit Creative Malden, the City of Malden, and the MBTA. These sort of inter-agency projects are complex but rewarding, said Deborah Burke, a longtime Malden employee who now consults with the city’s strategic planning and community development office. Burke said the mural is part of a multifaceted improvement effort in the neighborhood that also includes period streetlights and road investments made by the city.
“Summer St. is part of our downtown,” she said. “Public art improves the experience and quality of life, and it also says that the city and others are paying attention to their public spaces.”
Mayor Christenson snapped a photo of some young train aficionados at the unveiling. Mom Jamina says sons David, left, and Attila watched the mural come together with excitement. Photo: Neighborhood View
The vision for the mural began in late 2023 with Kevin Duffy, the city’s deputy director for business and economic development. After lining up state funding, Duffy reached out to Sandy Felder, president of Creative Malden, looking to collaborate on a mural for the wall, pending MBTA approval. After a sit-down with professional artists Naomi Kahn, who runs the sign division at Malden’s CRG Graphics, and Grace Julian-Murthy, creative director for downtown art venue Gallery@57, Felder said the group landed on trains as a natural theme given the wall’s location between the MBTA stop and Pearl St. Station, a restaurant with a storied railroad history that supported the project and hosted the post-unveiling reception.
Creative Malden put out a call for artwork depicting the long history of trains in Malden, from the steam engines of the B&M to the electric cars of the MBTA, and their relationships with the people who live and work in the city. Felder, Kahn and Julian-Murthy considered some 25 entries from creators of all ages.
Professional artists Karyn Alzayer (panel 6), Maria Cortes (5), Bithos Faustin (2), Julian-Murthy (7), Kahn (1 & 9), Stephanie & Chuck Stiglianio (8), and Priyanka Manicka Vasagam (4) were selected to contribute panels. The removable format was required by the MBTA in case wall repairs were needed and was advantageous given the condition of the cement, said Kahn. Malden High School students, led by MHS art department head Kristina Gilbert, collaborated on smaller artworks that came together for an additional mural panel, number 3. Kahn created the overall design of the mural and painted the two large trains at each end and the tracks that serve as a connecting thread.
Finally, artists were given the panels, which are made of a special material called Maxmetal, along with advice on paints and a $700 stipend. The city offered a heated workspace, but the artists all chose to work in their homes over the winter and spring. The panels have a special clear coating to protect them — though Burke said people tend to respect artwork and she has not seen much vandalism — and were mounted by the CRG Graphics team. There’s an informational panel with a QR code where viewers can learn more about the artists and the project as a whole.
MHS student Julia Fonseca with Christenson. Fonseca’s art, bottom left, shows people in modern and 1880s garb together on a platform. Photo: Neighborhood View
“I give her total credit for the vision of how it was outlined,” said Felder of Kahn. “She had this vision of having the train tracks, putting the train tracks on the wall, and having the murals go along the tracks.”
For her part, Kahn thanked her team at CRG Graphics for hanging the panels and helping stencil the tracks that pull the installation together.
“We wanted to use as much of the wall as we could for the budget we had,” she said.
You can see each panel on the Creative Malden site along with statements describing the artists’ inspirations, but the mural is best experienced in person.
“It was really fascinating, because artists went beyond the train itself, with a focus on the people,” Felder said. “The story that they told was much deeper and more robust than I would have ever imagined.”
Felder, Kahn, and Julian-Murthy at the ribbon cutting. The three worked with Malden’s Kevin Duffy to bring the vision of a mural to reality. Photo: Neighborhood View
Ribbon Cutting at the Crossroads of the City
“None of this happens by fiat,” said Felder at Monday’s ribbon cutting. “It happens because people believe in what we do. People believe in art, they believe in community, and they believe in bringing art and community together.”
One early believer, according to Mayor Gary Christenson, was Phillip Eng, the T’s general manager and CEO.
“When he did come and saw what we were trying to do, he moved it quickly,” Christenson told Neighborhood View. While Eng had a prior engagement, he sent a message of support.
“MBTA stations are gateways to our system, but more importantly they are gateways to the towns and communities that we serve,” said Eng. “I’m pleased that we can support local artists, local students, and contribute to local pride through art with the City of Malden and Creative Malden.”
City councilors Karen Colón Hayes, Peg Crowe, Amanda Linehan, Ryan O’Malley, and Stephen Winslow joined the ribbon cutting (photo above), where Christenson thanked Malden’s delegation for securing an earmark to support the mural and other efforts in the Summer St. corridor.
Diana Jeong, herself an artist who serves as treasurer for Creative Malden, said Eng’s support for the mural and other community-oriented projects like this reflect well on the MBTA, and on the creativity of cities like Malden.
“Public art, it just sort of gives you a good feeling,” said Jeong, calling out the city’s 21 painted switch boxes. “There’s a strong arts community, because a lot of artists live in Malden. We’ve got all this talent here.”
Are you an artist looking to plug into the creative community? See a list of links at the end of this article.
Amanda Linehan, who represents Ward 3 and currently serves as president of the City Council, attended the ribbon cutting and pointed out that the corner of Summer and Pleasant is where Wards 2, 3 and 4 come together.
“This is the nexus,” said Linehan. “What I love about it is not just that it touts the different aspects of transit in Malden, but it’s a gateway to the city and the doorstep to three different neighborhoods, too. The hope is that the mural helps bring economic development by drawing people to this side of the Square.”
Artists Stephanie & Chuck Stiglianio collaborated on a colorful panel showing the human side of train travel. Chuck’s sketches of fellow T travelers inspired the shared journey theme. Photo: Neighborhood View
Malden on the Railroad
When the Boston & Maine Railroad connected Malden directly to Boston in 1845 and made the city one of the country’s first “railroad suburbs,” the impact was immediate and profound: The city’s population exploded, growing by over 500% in the three decades after the railroad’s arrival, from roughly 2,500 in 1840 to 12,000-plus by 1880. And the B&M railroad wasn’t just for moving people. The rails helped Malden become a major manufacturing center, most famously home to the Boston Rubber Shoe Company, by allowing factories to bring in raw materials and ship out finished goods across the country, fueling the local economy and creating thousands of jobs.
Phillip Wright, information and local history librarian at the Malden Public Library, shared several links to the B&M Historical Society’s digital archives, of documents and photos, for those interested in the history of locomotives.
Then in 1975, the MBTA extended the Orange Line north from Boston, terminating at Oak Grove. Malden Station is a multimodal hub, with a Commuter Rail connection and numerous bus routes. And now, it’s a stop on any tour of the city’s public art installations.
Burke said T ridership is recovering post-pandemic and Summer St. is a busy throughway, so the city is looking to beautify the area to attract new businesses.
“Particularly the area from Maple Street, for businesses, down to the T,” she said. “If you are on that street, say, eight in the morning, or between 4:30 and 5:30 at night, there’s a lot of foot traffic.”
Detail of the grand fireplace inside Pearl St. Station at 53 Summer St. which was constructed in 1891-1892 as the primary Malden station for the B&M Railroad. The Romanesque brick building replaced an earlier wooden depot from 1871. See some postcards of it as a depot here. Photo: Neighborhood View
“It’s really great to have this as an introduction to what hopefully one day will become the West End Railway District,” said Paul Solano, General Manager of Pearl St. Station. Solano, who coined that description, said he can envision a distinct neighborhood being built up honoring the city’s history. “I think there’s a vibrant community of businesses and apartment buildings, residences, from Malden Center all the way up to Oak Grove.”
Panels Reflect Past, Future Visions
Felder said she’ll be interested in the community’s response to the panels going forward compared with the artist’s intentions.
“Artists, visual artists in particular, know why they’ve done something,” she said. “But when you look at a piece of art, you see a story in it, and it affects you in a particular way as the viewer. The question is, what was the artist’s view, and what did the artist want you to see or not see?”
Cortes, for example, said her mural, titled “From Playing to Building the Future,” (above) features a young girl playing with toy trains—a nod to the beloved Charles Ro Supply Company, “America’s largest train store” that’s been a part of Malden for decades.
“The piece follows her imagined journey as she grows into an MBTA operator, driving the latest Orange Line train,” said Cortes, who modeled the girl to honor her son’s Colombian family, who immigrated to Malden years ago, as well as the vibrant Hispanic communities in Malden, Everett, and Melrose.
Julian-Murthy, above with her colorful panel that invites train riders to look out the window, credits her mother for her love of flowers. “She said, ‘You just have to look for the beauty in everything and everyone, and so that’s kind of been the basis of my artwork throughout.” Photo: Neighborhood View
Julian-Murthy, who is the liaison for the program managing the city’s switch box art, particularly enjoyed connecting with other creators.
“Oftentimes artwork is done in solitude, and so being able to have that connection to other artists has really been helpful,” she said, saying Creative Malden has provided a number of opportunities. “They’ll help you in learning about different types of art, or even different artists. Maybe someone hadn’t thought about teaching, and then something comes up where we end up teaching a class or giving a talk. Then with the greater arts community within Malden, everyone shows up for mural openings or events or shows.”
Neighborhood View readers are invited to share their reactions to the artwork in the comments and to use one of these resources provided by Julian-Murthy to connect to Malden’s arts community. There is also an Arts & Culture tab on the Malden Events calendar.
Creative Malden offers art classes, grant and consignment opportunities.
Malden Arts is a community group for those interested in Malden artist projects and other arts initiatives in the area.
The Gallery@57 is a group of artists, artisans, and cultural entrepreneurs selling high quality handmade products at 57 Pleasant Street in Malden.
The Malden Library Rotating Art Exhibit will accept applications for artists to display their work.
The Malden Library Writing Group meets on the first and third Thursdays.
Urban Media Arts hosts artists exhibiting at Gallery UMA.
Coffee Shop Artists, born in a coffee shop, are led by a group of artists from Malden, Melrose and Medford, MA. They sponsor curated shows for local artists to exhibit their work, including at UMA and 350 Main.
The Malden Sketch Group, a long-standing collective of local artists, holds regular weekly meetings focused on life drawing on Monday evenings from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM in the basement studio space at Commerce Place, located at 350 Main St.
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