Long-Lost Mural of Freehold Returns to Borough’s Downtown

The Freehold mural lasted only a few short months in 2011, but it served as a reminder of the power of public art to bring a community together.

The project was a postcard-like design spelling out Freehold in block lettering, with iconic imagery of the borough's past and present figuring prominently in the work. If it had survived the advent of Instagram, it likely would have become one of the most selfied spots in area given its prominent location at the five-points intersection gateway to Freehold Borough's downtown.

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The mural didn't survive, though. The then-property owner who had given permission for the removable panels to be placed there didn't receive approval from the borough to build a 7-Eleven at the location and suddenly had the mural painted over.

I was the editor of Freehold Patch at the time, and I remember the lengthy process the Freehold Borough Arts Council (FBAC) went through to plan the mural, involve community stakeholders, and organize a community paint day. I also remember artist Matt Halm sitting on scaffolding throughout the summer as he spent six months painting the mural.

The council planned for much of the artwork to be removable, given the debate over what the private property would become. (It was subsequently sold and a different property owner built a gas station there.)

The destruction of the mural was heartbreaking.

"We had no warning of this and we don't understand it," then-FBAC President Neal Girandola told me at the time. "I am devastated and frustrated, it is absolutely maddening. There was no reason to do this."

Section of Freehold Mural Mounted After Over a Decade in Storage

When word of the paint-over spread through town, Freehold Borough police officers salvaged as many of the panels as they could. Then FBAC member and past president Jeffrey Friedman, now a Freehold Borough councilman, stored the art for over a decade.

Those panels now have a new lease on life between beloved mainstays of the borough: the Court Jester and the American Hotel.

The resurrected panels show musician performing, representing the borough's commitment to its musical past and present, as well as a representation of historical figure Molly Pitcher -- a nod to the Battle of Monmouth, which took place in part of present-day Manalapan and Freehold Township.

The panels were placed on the back of the Court Jester building in the alley it shares with the American Hotel between East Main and the Market Yard Parking Lot. I'm told this happened some time ago, but I was recently alerted to it with a posting by the FBAC shared on July 1.