… is a mural on Main Street in Nashua that takes a look back at three of the highlights in the history of American movies – The Three Stooges, Cary Grant and Vivian Leigh in ‘Gone With the Wind’, as well as James Stewart and Donna Reed in ‘A Wonderful Life’. It was painted on the side of on the Chase Building on its 100th anniversary. Once upon a time this building was home to a movie theater with a few different names – the Tremont (1917-1927), State (1927-1973), and Star (1973-1980) Theaters.
Phelany23 painted the mural, with the support of Positive Street Art.
below: A Wonderful Life, Christmas 1946 with James Stewart and Donna Reed
below: Gone with the Wind – Cary Grant and Vivian Leigh
below: The Three Stooges in The Blob – Larry, Moe, and Curly
Similar to other cities in the United States, Nashua New Hampshire has made a bicycle/pedestrian path out of land once used by the railway. The trail itself is short, only just over a mile starting at City Hall and running parallel to Hollis Street although there may be plans to extend it. Once it was part of the Great Northern Railway that ran from Boston to Lake Erie.
Some of the buildings along the trail have been painted with murals.
The Nashua Dodgers were a Brooklyn Dodgers farm team that played out of Holman Stadium in Nashua from 1946 to 1949 (four seasons). Two African American players, catcher Roy Campanella and pitcher Don Newcombe, were on the team in those years – this was shortly after the signing of Jackie Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945, and the beginning of the integration of major league baseball.
below: Horse drawn public transit on the streets of Nashua, the Manchester Horse Railroad, “Main Street 1908”
below: Fuzzy in pink and red with wisps of green.
One of the projects of the Positive Street Art organization is the maintenance of two Legal Graffiti Walls. They happen to be on this rail path and this is what was on one of them when I passed by in mid August 2024…. It is a tribute to Joey Tombs by Jay Mac (aka The Backstah) on the 10th anniversary of Tombs’s passing.
And last, there is one more train themed mural. A caboose and an engine with three railroad cars in between. These cars contain scenes painted by local artists. The mural was created as part of the 2005 Mayor’s Task Force on Youth along with the support of local businesses. It covers the entire block between Walnut Street and Chestnut Street.
below: “Native Americans admired and named the Nashua River – the beautiful river with pebbled bottom.”
Eyes on the Streets 