New Mural Now Facing Locust Point Community Garden
Locust Point resident Nicole Buchholz recently painted a new mural facing the Locust Point Community Garden at 1134 Hull St. The mural was painted on the side wall of the adjacent rowhome on the northern edge of the garden.
The Locust Point Community Garden is on a lot owned by Under Armour. It spans from Haubert St. to Hull St.
Under Armour started the garden five years ago for its employees to use, before Locust Point resident Dave Arndt started working with the company to manage the garden when Under Armour’s campus shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The garden, which now has 60 plots, has grown in recent years after 26 new plots were added last year. An additional 18 new plots are scheduled to be added next year.
Plots are available for free for Under Armour employees and Locust Point residents. Arndt said there is a list of about 30 people waiting to get a plot at the garden.
Along with gardening plots, the Locust Point Community Garden has beehives as well as common areas with plants such as sunflowers, lavender, and rosemary.
The garden is funded by Under Armour as well as grants from the Locust Point Civic Association (LPCA). Under Armour landscapes the garden and uses the dead plant material for composting.
Arndt hopes the community will still run the garden when Under Armour moves from Locust Point in the coming years.
Nicole Buchholz has already added murals to a house adjacent to Riverside Park and to the longhouse at Latrobe Park. She and Arndt thought it would be a “great idea” to add another mural to the Locust Point Community Garden.
They received permission from the homeowner and were able to raise $3,100 for the mural. This amount includes $1200 from a LPCA grant, $900 from a donation by C. Steinweg Group, and $1,00 through a Facebook fundraiser.
Nicole Buchholz, who donated her time for the mural, designed a “botanical” and “colorful” mural for the wall on her computer before installing it in three weeks with the help of her husband Stacen Buchholz. Stacen Buchholz, an emergency room physician who Nicole Buchholz described as “very methodical,” helped “precisely” draw the mural on the wall. Nicole Buchholz painted it.
The Buchholz also had a little bit of help from their sons Sebastian (7) and Santiago (4). 4th grader, Emma Green who lives near the garden, also helped.
The idea to add murals to the community started when Nicole Buchholz and Sebastian Buchholz were reading the book ‘Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood,’ and Sebastian Buchholz asked if they could paint a mural. Nicole Buchholz loved the idea. They got their first opportunity to do so on their friend’s home adjacent to Riverside Park.
Nicole Buchholz, who has a background in urban design and planning, hopes to get hired to paint more murals in the future. She is working with the Francis Scott Key PTO to plan a mural for the back of the gymnasium at the school, add art on entry ways, and potentially paint crosswalks leading to the school.
Nicole Buchholz helped spearhead improvements to the Riverside Park Pool in 2019, a project that added public art and new furniture. She also worked on two similar projects in Philadelphia.
She noted how public art not only brings joy to those in the community, but can help attract investments. The mural on the longhouse at Latrobe Park was an initiative to attract investment for the structure which later secured a $300,000 State of Maryland grant for improvements.
Nicole Buchholz said the feedback was instantaneous for the Locust Point Community Garden mural. Not only did people walking down the street say nice things, she said some have stopped their car in the middle of the street to tell her it’s beautiful.
“People have mentioned how happy it makes them,” said Nicole Buchholz. “Everyone has been so positive. It’s lovely!”
About the Author: Kevin Lynch
Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.
