Nordonia High School students have worked on public art beyond school grounds, including a 2021 mural beneath the Interstate 271 bridge over Route 82. Students and other volunteers painted a map of the Nordonia Hills area and local landmarks; the project required approval from the Ohio Department of Transportation, which maintains the bridge, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
A mural rooted in local landmarks
The Nordonia High School Art Club’s latest project is a mural on the Ohio Time Corporation building at 9401 Olde Eight Road in Northfield Center, marking the company’s 50th anniversary. The building dates to 1939 and has housed businesses including barbershops and watch and clock repair shops, according to cleveland.com’s report.
What historic recognition means
Ohio History Connection says the Ohio Historic Inventory does not protect historic resources or impose requirements on property owners. The available search results do not establish whether the mural building is included in the inventory, so its inclusion cannot be confirmed from this information.
Organizers plan to seal the mural when the weather allows and hold a dedication with music in spring 2027, alongside a celebration of the company’s anniversary, cleveland.com reported.
Student design and community support
Cleveland.com reported that an eight-member Art Club leadership team guided the design, with about 10 students participating. Students began developing ideas in August, combined their sketches into a shared design and started painting in September. They generally worked Thursdays and Saturdays, often for about three hours at a time. Adult volunteers provided scaffolding and lifts for the upper portions of the two-story wall.
The mural depicts the Five Points intersection, the community gazebo, Brandywine Falls and a historic water pump, according to cleveland.com. The project followed a request from building owner Larry Homolak to trustee Gene Lim about using the exterior wall for a mural; Lim connected the school’s Art Club with the Northfield Center Historical Society.
Students and other workers volunteered their labor. The historical society helped pay for paint and materials, with community donations covering the remaining costs, cleveland.com reported.
