sharonsantillo, Author at Neighborhood View

The Doo Wop era ends in Malden

April 14, 2022 sharonsantillo 0

By Sharon Santillo Larry Williams, who grew up in Somerville, originally had an interior design business but thought he would try his hand in the food industry. His first restaurant was in Beverly, but he saw a business for sale in Malden, property included. The thought of not paying rent clinched the deal. In 1991, he opened the Doo Wop Diner at 269 Main St. “My grandfather loved to sing Doo Wop. That was his inspiration,” reported his granddaughter, Caitlin McLaughlin. The diner became a Malden institution. Now, after 32 years, the Doo Wop has changed ownership. The first years of the Doo Wop were hard, but Larry’s wife Evelyn, his partner in business and life, urged him to hang on a bit longer. When the Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Wellington Circle closed the last day of 1998, much of that breakfast business came over to the Doo Wop and there was no looking back. Williams credits all his family for the business’s success. He and his oldest son, Larry Jr., had fun together creating the ’50s-themed menu. Their “Jumpin’ […]

ARTLine Covid Memorial Park aims to bring healing to Malden

January 23, 2022 sharonsantillo 1

By Sharon Santillo With reverence for the healing power of the arts, Malden Arts announced plans for a COVID-19 memorial as the newest addition to the ARTLine on the Northern Strand Community Trail, a public art gallery that stretches long the Malden section of the 10-mile path. The COVID-19 memorial, consisting of a sculpture, bench and a mural of poetry and art, will be located at the Franklin Street crossing of the trail in Malden, as part of Phase Two of the ARTLine. “This pocket park will not only serve as public art, but also be a special space to remember and honor those that we lost to the COVID pandemic, the families who are grieving, the workers who went above and beyond, and our neighbors who pitched in and came together,” said Malden Arts President Ari Taylor. State Senator Jason Lewis had state funds set aside for this project; Malden Councillor Debbie DeMaria provided additional funding for the sculpture and the bench; and State Rep. Paul Donato was instrumental in working with the MBTA. Artist Thomas Berger […]

The artist who brought the “Spirit in the Sky” mural to Malden

October 3, 2019 sharonsantillo 7

By Sharon Santillo Have you ever known a little kid who liked to draw all the time? Jesse Melanson, the designer and and painter of the new “Spirit in the Sky” mural in Malden, was one of those kids growing up in Maine in the 1990s. His journey from Maine to Malden took him from a friend’s car to California, on a bicycle to Central America, and to Austin with his lady love and her horse. In early 2019, Melanson, an Austin, Texas-based artist, answered the call to artists from Malden Arts ARTLine for public art proposals, especially proposals to honor well-know artists, writers, and musicians from Malden. A major fundraising campaign was held in 2018 and Patronicity and the community responded with enthusiasm. The first mural in 2018, located at Exchange Street at FitzGerald Park, honored Malden-born award-winning children’s illustrator, Ed Emberley. A playground for small children was recently added nearby. In August, Melanson, assisted by Megan Lacy, executed a four-story mural at the corner of Washington and Exchange Streets to honor Malden musician/composer Norman Greenbaum […]

Malden native still has that Spirit in the Sky

August 12, 2019 sharonsantillo 3

By Sharon Santillo Fifty years ago in 1969, a song was released that has become a quintessential guitar track for movies, TV, and advertising; it still receives radio play today. “Spirit in the Sky” was composed and performed by Malden-born artist Norman Greenbaum, who is one of a handful of musicians who has made a lifetime of earnings from one song. Malden Arts ARTLine is planning a spectacular tribute to Greenbaum and “Spirit in the Sky” on this fifty-year anniversary with the painting of a mural to highlight the song on the back of 110 Pleasant Street, facing the Exchange Street side. Painting on the Spirit of the Sky mural has begun and will continue through August. A ribbon-cutting will be held at the site on Oct. 16 with Greenbaum as the honored guest. The Malden community is invited to enjoy the mural and welcome Greenbaum back to his hometown. Greenbaum was born at Malden Hospital on November 20, 1942, two months premature. “I couldn’t wait to get started on my career,” Greenbaum quipped in a recent interview with […]

A Tale of Two Sculptors on Malden’s ARTLine

June 9, 2019 sharonsantillo 0

By Sharon Santillo Malden’s ARTLine will get three new additions this month, when installations by Colin Selig and Joe Malesky, and a mural by Clay Larsen are officially unveiled on Thursday, June 20, at 5:30 p.m., opposite 195 Canal Street. The public is invited to see the art and meet the artists, who will all speak at the event. The two sculptors bring different visions to Malden, but both are devoted to the arts. “I am still a little kid,” sculptor Joe Malesky admitted in an interview. When he was growing up, kids played outside, made toys, fixed things, and had a lot of people around to help them. “We improvised,” he recalled. A Detroit native, Malesky spent part of his childhood in the Motor City; he also spent time on a farm in southern Illinois. Both city and country have influenced his sensibilities. The last 40 years of his life have been in Springfield, Missouri, first as a machinist in small fabrication shops, and now as a sculptor. Malesky works mainly with structural grade […]

All aboard the ARTLine

May 28, 2019 sharonsantillo 2

By Sharon Santillo There is a stretch of the Northern Strand Community Trail on Canal Street just calling out for public art. On June 20 at 6 p.m. that call will be answered with the unveiling of a sculpture, a bench and a mural. Look for a white tent opposite 195 Canal Street in Malden, Massachusetts and celebrate a glorious year for the ARTLine. The idea for ARTLine began one year ago on Exchange Street in Malden when the mural depicting “The Wonderful World of Ed Emberley” was unveiled honoring this Malden-born icon of children’s book illustrations. Emberley and his family were present for the party atmosphere and the start of fund-raising for more public art in Malden and the ARTLine was born. The goal of the ARTLine is to develop a premier public art gallery with miles of professional murals, sculptures and community hubs. These hubs will feature gathering spaces with bursts of art, greenscapes, and pedestrian and bicycle accommodations. “The best part of this past year has been the community support,” said Malden […]

Honoring Malden native and artist Ed Emberley leads to the ARTLine

May 8, 2018 sharonsantillo 4

By Sharon Santillo Ed Emberley might never have returned to the city of his birth if Malden Arts had not received a tip that he was born here in Malden in 1931. When members learned there was to be a retrospective of his work at the Worcester Art Museum in the fall of 2016, they planned a field trip. All were impressed with the breadth of his 60+ year career illustrating children’s books, his magnificent woodcuts that won him a Caldecott Medal in 1967, and the charm of his how-to-draw books that have influenced generations of children. I am a board member of Malden Arts and I reached out to Emberley after the museum visit with a request to allow Malden Arts to paint a mural to honor him. “We know you left Malden when you were a baby, but we still claim you as our own,” I told him. “How could I feel anything but a soft spot in my heart for Malden,” said Emberley, who will be 87 on October 19. He agreed to […]

Little Free Libraries “Revive” Malden’s Neighborhood Libraries

May 31, 2017 sharonsantillo 9

By Sharon Santillo An international effort that encourages citizens to set up free neighborhood book exchanges has arrived in Malden. Moreover, these “little free libraries” are bringing back a miniature version of the neighborhood libraries that the city lost beginning in the 1980s. Sparked by the non-profit organization, Little Free Library, Malden residents are creating tiny spaces where anyone passing by can take a book to read or leave a book for someone else to find. The first little free library was created by Todd Bol in 2009 to honor his deceased mother who loved to read. He built a one-room schoolhouse model and put it on a post in the front yard of his Wisconsin home and filled it with books. He shared the idea and it spread globally. Now there are over 50,000 little free libraries across the United States and in over 70 countries. Soon you will see these small libraries around Malden. Malden Arts has received a grant from the Malden Cultural Council to register 10 little free libraries in Malden […]

News

Who was Herbert L. Jackson?

February 1, 2017 sharonsantillo 0

Did you know that Malden’s city hall’s council chamber is named the Herbert L. Jackson Council Chambers? And did you know that a switchbox art project on Salem Street has been created to commemorate Herbert L. Jackson? Who was this favorite son of Malden? Herbert L. Jackson was the first African American ever elected to the Malden City Council. Councillor Jackson has the distinction of a 30 year career in public service. He was first elected as a councillor for Ward 7 from 1945 to 1947, and in Ward 5 from 1947 to 1951 and as a City Councillor-at-Large from 1965 to 1975. He served as president of the Malden City Council four times during his political career. Furthermore, Jackson was the first African American elected as a State House Representative in the 20th century, serving from 1950 to 1954. The City of Malden achieved national prominence in the election of Herbert L. Jackson as a Massachusetts District Governor of Lions Club and again, he was the first African American elected to such a post in the […]

Malden Sketch Group celebrates 20 years of sketching

May 15, 2015 sharonsantillo 0

When committees make decisions on the dispersal of grant money, there is always the hope that this little bit of money will lead to some greater good for the community. Who could ever have predicted that a little grant given to the Malden Sketch Group 20 years ago would have led to one of the longest lasting drawing groups in the whole Boston area? Nunzio Luca was there at the very beginning. Fred Seager, also one of the founders remembers, “I had a great deal of respect for him and consider him as a mentor. He was a much admired head of the Malden High School Art Department for years, and was a wonderful artist and good friend.” Nunzio and Fred decided to get a life drawing group together and they set out to find a space. “We were fortunate also to have the early support of the Malden Arts Council in the grant process, Niecie Degan and Nana Goldberg were facilitators of the cultural center building, an old fire station on Pearl Street. It […]