There’s a new mural on Richmond Street in Bridesburg on display outside of the office of Rep. Joe Hohenstein! On Thursday, October 16th, area residents gathered for the grand reveal and remarks from Rep. Hohenstein, mural artist Meg Lemieur, Jane Golden of MuralArts, and Trinity Norwood, citizen of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Nation. Completed over the summer, this mural celebrates and recognizes the connections of people to the Delaware River through time, starting with the recognition of the Lenape Nation.

The mural, dedicated to all those who interact with and benefit from the river, depicts a Lenape woman overlooking the Delaware River, with two silhouettes on either side – each one containing the progression of time and how the river has and will be an asset to the community. On the leftmost side, the inside of the silhouette depicts how the Lenape originally used and interacted with the river, showing figures in canoes fishing and traveling, as the Delaware has always been a mechanism to get from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, and vice versa. Moving inward, the next silhouette reflects the industrial growth that the river has seen, showing a sailboat and industrial buildings in the background. On the righthand side of the Lenape woman in the center, the inner figure depicts the Delaware River as we know it today – the Philadelphia skyline in the background, along with the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, overlooks a father and daughter as they fish and relax by the river. Finally, on the outer righthand side, the figure depicts what is hoped for the river’s future; a bustling and healthy community hub where people can connect with nature and each other. Also included is an image of a sturgeon leaping from the water, indicating a healthy and clean body of water.

“We have the responsibility to remember,” Rep. Hohenstein stated in his remarks. “We must be dedicated to do better; and recognize the faces of our ancestors in our neighbors of today – seeing their struggles as no lesser or greater than our own. We must open ourselves to creating a larger sense of community – expanding our definition of who ‘we’ are.”

This mural is a reminder that we have always been connected to nature – from the original inhabitants of this land, the Lenape Nation, to the people today who have fished, kayaked, commuted, and connected by way of the Delaware River.

The mural is located outside of Rep. Hohenstein’s office on 4725 Richmond Street in Bridesburg.