New Mural Being Painted In Fort Thomas

A rendering of what the new mural on the corner of Fort Thomas Ave. and Audubon.

The City of Fort Thomas is receiving many gifts for its 150th birthday. The most recent? A colorful mural.

The idea was born like so many sesquicentennial ideas have been born: The mural serves as yet another way to celebrate all Fort Thomas has to offer, while also serving as something that will benefit the city for years to come.

“It was definitely a group effort,” says Fort Thomas resident Cathy Sonnett, who designed the mural. “We saw the potential to capture this great milestone for our city and share it with the community in a more permanent way. We'd love to see more opportunities for murals that compliment the cities landscape in the future, perhaps an ongoing mural program that uses local talent.”

This is an advertisement. 

After scouting out a few places around town, Sonnett says longtime Fort Thomas resident Hank Pogue of Pogue & Associates graciously agreed for the mural to be painted on his building, on the corner of Fort Thomas Ave. Audubon. In addition to gifting the city the space, Pogue fixed the wall by removing an air conditioner unit, patching and painting. 

"The mural will reflect the rich heritage and the history of Fort Thomas, and our company is proud to have the mural painted on our building," Pogue says.

Fort Thomas resident Greg Dee, a sales manager with Sherwin-Williams, and Chad Hart, also with Sherwin-Williams, are donating the paint. “They were extremely helpful and generous, Greg in making the initial contact and Chad meeting with me to provide insight on the paint choices,” Sonnett says. Sonnett says they also completed a wall test to ensure the right type of paint is being used. It is fast-drying paint so each coat will dry in about an hour.

Other folks who have helped out with the project include Fort Thomas resident Adam Blau, who helped secure the scaffolding, and Judge Cameron Blau, who will help install it. Hilary Colborn, Adam Blau’s fiancée, has a background in fine art and works as a development manager at The Carnegie. She has offered to help paint the mural. Sonnett says Jason Hargis contributed to the initial design ideas, and is helping to organize the execution of the mural and recruit volunteers. Brian Sand and Debbie Buckley have also helped to coordinate the process.

Depending on weather and volunteers, here is the project timeline for the mural’s process:

• June 27th: scaffolding goes up

• June 27th: one coat of primer, three coats of base blue goe up

• July 1st: design and paint, utilizing projector and trace, star templates, roughing out and completing)

The mural’s team goal is to complete the project by July 2.

How can you help? The mural team is looking for Highlands High School art students specifically, but anyone who has a background and/or is skilled in painting is more than welcome to come help paint July 1 and potentially July 2.

As with most things sesquicentennial related, this gift is just yet another example of our community coming together to accomplish something that will benefit all our residents for years to come. A bonus benefit? The mural team hopes this project will spark interest in additional murals to dot our city in the future.