Councilman spruces up downtown with Ruder mural

Columbia Falls took another step on the route to rejuvenation with a new photo mural on a Nucleus Avenue building. Councilman and property owner Dave Petersen put up a black and white Mel Ruder photograph of Gunsight Pass on the former Nord Apartment Building.

Getting more murals in town is one of the projects he has pushed for many years while on city council. But it is difficult to hire an artist to paint on a building, he said. And it’s more expensive.

The 16-by-12-foot photo is made up of four by eight panels. Each panel is considerably less than $1,000, Petersen said.

While visiting Cut Bank, Petersen saw free-standing four-by-eight historical photos of automobiles and frontier scenes that were put up about seven years ago. He liked the idea and contacted the same sign company, Glacier Signs and Monuments in Kalispell, to have them put up a photo in Columbia Falls.

He wanted to put something on the wall of his building that would be interesting for people driving into the downtown area, whether they live here or are visiting. He decided to use a Mel Ruder photograph from the Hungry Horse News.

“I wanted to try to use Mel Ruder because of his historical contributions and impact on Columbia Falls,” Petersen said.

He chose a view of the pass because of what Glacier National Park means to Columbia Falls. The geography of the town and its associated outdoor activities are what attract people and keep people here, he said. 

He wanted people to think of “what a great place we have” when they look at the photo.

In the process of getting the photo installed, it became a community project, Petersen said. 

Freedom Bank gave him an interest-free loan through its Gateway Pride Project. 

“It helped me move forward,” Petersen said.

Then the sign company had trouble fastening it onto the wall since it is 30 feet up at the top of the building.

So he contacted Mick Ruis, who owns American Scaffold, to install some scaffolding. Ruiz had it up the next day. 

Hungry Horse Editor Chris Peterson helped Petersen find a Mel Ruder photo that fit the location. 

Petersen doesn’t have plans yet to put any other photos up.

Because the photo is black and white it will stand up to sun degradation better than color, giving it a life of over 10 years, Petersen said.