WINCHESTER — The two crosswalks on Route 10 had faded from the black pavement. But on Sunday, approximately 20 volunteers took to the streets with brushes and white paint to bring them back to life.
What they painted weren’t ordinary crosswalks, though. The white lines are close together, and rectangular gaps in their corners make them look like the black and white keys of a piano.
But Winchester’s new crosswalks aren’t supposed to represent a piano’s keyboard; they’re a tribute to New England’s first pipe organ, which was built in town more than 200 years ago.
The two crosswalks on Route 10 are among four in downtown Winchester that volunteers and organizers of the group Friends of Public Art created to honor the town’s musical history.
Painters designed another keyboard to help pedestrians cross the road on Route 119, and on Elm Street, a crosswalk now features a musical staff with notes. This crosswalk represents an excerpt from the “Ashuelot Quick Step,” a song written for Winchester after the musical instrument manufacturer, Graves and Co., moved to the town in 1830.
Murray McClelland, a member of Friends of Public Art, said the crosswalks commemorate both Winchester’s historic commitment to innovation, as well as the innovation the town has seen in recent years.
“We tried looking into what was going on in the 19th century in this town and that can be used as the town is trying to reinvent itself,” McClelland said.
Several new businesses have transformed Winchester’s downtown in the past few years, according to McClelland.
From the freshly painted crosswalks on Route 10, three additions are visible: New England Sweetwater Farm and Distillery, which arrived in 2015; Cuts on Main, a barbershop that opened in the past year, and a gallery space recently renovated from an old post office.
Rowland Russell, who is also a member of Friends of Public Art, said the town is experiencing a “renaissance” which is reflected in the crosswalks’ tribute to Winchester’s musical history.
Not only was the town home to the first pipe organ in New England, but when Graves and Co., a shop that designed woodwind instruments, moved to Winchester from West Fairlee, Vermont, in 1830, it became one of the most well-known instrument manufacturers in the region. The company moved to Winchester to harness the water power of the Ashuelot River and then also began to manufacture brass instruments. In 1850, it expanded and moved to Boston.
The Friends of Public Art wanted to demonstrate that the Winchester of today is a lot like the Winchester of the past — a town that’s attracting new businesses and residents, according to Russell.
In recent years, many young families have moved in because houses are affordable he said. Jason Koerber, a Winchester resident of 12 years, has noticed this as well.
“This has become more of a bedroom community. More families seem to be moving here instead of renting or trying to afford a tiny home in Keene,” he said.
In addition to the musical crosswalk project, Friends of Public Art are also helping Winchester cultivate and celebrate its identity by throwing the first “Winchester Jubilee.” The event is a daylong festival slated for Aug. 20, with speeches from local historians and musical performances in the spirit of the town’s history.
Cherie Rowe, the Friends of Public Art member who first pitched the crosswalk project, said she hopes more people will be drawn to the town in years to come.
“It’s going to be its own destination, a place to learn about history,” she said. “It’s just going to take some time.”
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