The Borough of Garwood put out an open call for mural proposals last fall, inviting artists to design for the full wall or break it into panels, with painting planned for 2026. The finished work weaves Garwood's industrial past into its present: one panel shows a factory worker assembling a Duo-Art player piano mechanism, a direct reference to the Aeolian Company's piano and player-piano factory that once operated alongside the borough's rail line beginning around 1900 — a piece of Garwood history that helped put the borough on the map long before it was known for much else. Other panels bring the mural into the present day, including a Garwood fire truck and the borough's own seal.
Residents turned out for the unveiling on Saturday, Sept. 19, posing for photos in front of their favorite panels along the underpass. For a town whose downtown commuters pass through the underpass daily, the mural turns a plain stretch of wall into a walk through the borough's own history — from piano rolls to fire trucks — every time someone walks or drives through.
