Four murals at Juliette Hampton Morgan Library unveiled to celebrate city bicentennial

Bill Ford felt like an outsider as a kid walking into the Montgomery City-County Public Library with his father.

Today, Ford unveiled four large-scale murals he created over the course of a year on the walls of Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial Library. The murals celebrate Montgomery’s bicentennial through the depiction of Montgomery icons who have made cultural, literary and historic contributions to the world.

"There are not enough superlatives. I am so excited about this," Morgan Library's assistant director Karen Preuss said.

A Montgomery native and Montgomery Arts Guild member, Ford was selected by the library board to complete the work. Ford’s work serves as the centerpiece of the library’s recent renovation.

The murals tell Montgomery stories starting from 1819 when the land was held by the indigenous nations. One panel features images of civil rights heroes. Another features Montgomery-associated icons like Nat King Cole, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton and Hank Williams. 

"It really was a labor of love. I'm from Montgomery. I love this city," Ford said.

Two weeks ago, Ford unveiled another public art project. The city unveiled a public bus covered in Ford's chronicles of local history depicted through seminal Montgomery figures like Rosa Parks.

The mural unveiling was part of Mayor Todd Strange's goodbye tour. His last City Council meeting is Nov. 5. The agenda is packed with projects to complete before Steven Reed is sworn in Nov. 12. Reed said public art is essential and he'd continue to support the arts at the unveiling.

Sara MacNeil can be reached at smacneil@montgome.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter.