A monumental community art project that has been five years in the making reached its completion Wednesday afternoon, as the final touches were added to the expansive Point Park floodwall mural in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The collaborative artwork, spanning an impressive 630 feet—more than the length of two football fields—now stands as a vibrant testament to the region's rich history and cultural significance.
Artist Christopher Santer, who has been traveling from Minnesota every summer since the project's inception, completed the final phase of work this summer by bridging two existing sections of the mural and adding decorative autumn leaves along the edges. Santer, a Parkersburg native who works as a K-12 art teacher at a Catholic school outside Minneapolis during the academic year, has dedicated his summers to this massive undertaking alongside several other talented artists including Emma Romanowski, Belinda Armstrong, Edward Escandon, and Abbie Burge.
The mural project originated in 2018 when Santer's lifelong friend and local business owner Edward Escandon approached him with a vision to transform the floodwall into something beautiful rather than a canvas for commercial advertisements. "He was like if we're going to do something with this wall, don't hang a bunch of ugly ads. Let's make something beautiful," Santer recalled. The pair envisioned the artwork not just as a local attraction, but as a gateway to West Virginia that would welcome visitors to the entire state.
The left side of the mural features a stunning mountain landscape that seamlessly blends with a musical staff displaying the opening notes and words to John Denver's iconic "Country Roads." This section creates a powerful visual connection to West Virginia's natural beauty and cultural identity. The right side showcases multiple panels depicting significant historical scenes from Parkersburg's past, including the historic Blennerhassett Hotel, the beloved Camden Theater, and a particularly striking image of a Wright Brothers airplane soaring over downtown Parkersburg in 1910—which Santer identifies as his personal favorite piece of the entire mural.
Uniting both sides of the artwork is a meticulously detailed painting of the Parkersburg-Belpre bridge that runs along the top of the mural. The bridge's piers serve as natural dividers between the various historical panels below. However, this element proved to be the most challenging aspect of the entire project for Santer. "It just became never-ending. And all the care I had to give to make the sandstone that, if you grew up here, you know it so well. We would park under that bridge as a kid downtown," he explained. The attention to detail required to capture the bridge's weathered sandstone and realistic rusting effects consumed considerable time across 260 feet of wall space.
Funding for the ambitious project came through the Parkersburg Floodwall Mural Project, a nonprofit organization that emerged from Downtown PKB specifically to support the mural's creation. The initial two years of work were funded entirely through independent fundraising efforts, but by the third year, the city recognized the project's popularity and contributed additional funding to ensure its continuation. Santer noted that the overwhelming community support has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the entire experience.
The technical challenges of creating such a large-scale work presented their own obstacles. Santer admitted that working from scissor lifts took significant adjustment during the first year due to the height and constant swaying motion. The logistics of painting at such a scale while maintaining artistic precision required both physical endurance and creative adaptation of traditional painting techniques.
While the main mural is now complete for the foreseeable future, one panel remains available for a future artist to claim. However, expansion to the other side of the floodwall presents significant logistical challenges. The terrain's slope and the wall's consistent height would make accessing the area with standard scissor lifts impossible, requiring specialized equipment like picker arms that would dramatically increase both complexity and cost.
Throughout the five-year journey, community response has been overwhelmingly positive. Local residents and visitors alike have stopped to watch the mural's progress and express their appreciation for the transformation of what was once a blank concrete barrier into a celebration of regional heritage. For Santer, who balances his teaching career with commission work throughout the year, this project represents the perfect blend of his professional skills and personal connection to his hometown, creating a lasting legacy that will inspire and educate visitors about Parkersburg's unique place in American history for generations to come.
