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Vibrant Colors Highlight Past, Present, and Future along the Towpath Trail
Canalway, in partnership with the City of Cleveland and Ohio & Erie Canalway Association, are excited to announce the completion of a permanent art installation at the northern terminus of the Towpath Trail in Cleveland’s Canal Basin Park.
A mural highlighting the history of the Ohio & Erie Canal and the future of the Towpath Trail through vibrant use of color now greets trail users as they enter Canal Basin Park. The installation will also include a 15 foot-tall artistic illustration of a map of the Towpath Trail, showing the trail’s scale and the connectivity it creates between communities in the Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area.
The mural is being celebrated on June 27 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. This free, public gathering will include summer snacks, free community portraits in front of the mural, a coloring sheet for kids, and a Canal Basin Park Walking Tour beginning at 4 p.m. This Canal Basin Park Walking Tour is part of Cleveland History Days.
“This art installation helps us illustrate why Canal Basin Park is such an important place in the City of Cleveland’s history. The mural tells the story of Canal Basin Park as the location where canal boats brought goods and people into our city, and even our state, for the first time, and shows how the canal is now immortalized as the recreational path that is the Towpath Trail,” said Mera Cardenas, executive director of Canalway Partners and co-executive director of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Association.
The project was managed by the City of Cleveland with design firm FireWatch Design Studio and was funded in part by a Strategic Initiative Grant from the Ohio & Erie Canalway Association. The mural was designed and painted by Kelle Schwab, who was selected from the 70 local and national artists who submitted proposals for the project.
“This mural celebrates the energy, movement, and vibrant spirit of the Towpath Trail as it flows through past and present Cleveland. My work is often colorful, uplifting, and narrative-based—blending historical reference with a sense of joy and place. This piece honors the trail’s legacy while inviting people to experience it as a living thread that connects us to nature, city, and one another,” said muralist Kelle Schwab.
“For the Canal Basin Park project, we transformed the bridge into a storytelling centerpiece—expressed in three themes: water, work, and the waves of change that continue to move Cleveland forward. The canal once served as a crucial lifeline, bringing goods and people that powered industry and innovation. Today, it serves a new purpose—connecting us through shared spaces of reflection, recreation, and celebration of the city that Clevelanders proudly call home,” said Joey DiFranco, CEO at FireWatch Design Studio.
This public art project is the first of the many improvements coming to Canal Basin Park in the near future. The plans for a full park redesign were approved by Cleveland Planning Commission in January of this year.
Once the park renovation is complete, Canal Basin Park will be home to a Cuyahoga River-themed playground, an accessible riverfront edge with boardwalk, and an ecological interpretation of the historic Canal Basin featuring a stormwater filtration system that will highlight the Cuyahoga River’s role in the creation of the 1972 Clean Water Act. The proposed designs also include the reallocation of Merwin Avenue from vehicular traffic to pedestrian and bicycle promenade.