Medina’s history will be told in downtown panels

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 May 2014 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – One of the 11 bases for interpretive panels about Medina history and lore was recently installed along Main Street by Rotary Park. The panels should be added next week.

MEDINA – Next week a series of 11 interpretive panels about Medina history will be installed in the downtown business district.

The sign bases have already been installed by the Medina DPW. The panels will be added next week.

Chris Busch, the vice president of the Orleans Renaissance Group, is coordinator of the project. The panels will teach local history, and make for a more meaningful visit for tourists, he said.

“It can bring a historic landmark or event to life and allow a visitor to take home more than a picture and a memory – a deeper appreciation of our village,” Busch said.

The signs also create “the perception of importance – that this place is worth visiting historically, culturally, architecturally and economically,” Busch said.

He expects the project will generate community pride and boost awareness for Medina’s historic, architectural and cultural resources. Businesses will benefit from visitors who stay in the community longer, Busch said.

The project was spearheaded by the ORG with backing from the Medina Business Association. Sponsors paid for the mounts and Ken Daluisio of The Print Shop donated the panels and helped coordinate the project.

Busch designed the panels and they feature village’s history – its sandstone, Erie Canal and railroad prowess, and some notable characters and community leaders, as well as a tribute to immigrants who worked on the canal and quarries. One panel features Grover Cleveland and his wife, the former Frances Folsom, a Medina native. Cleveland married Folsom while he was U.S. president.

Sponsors of the project include the MBA, Gabrielle and Andina Barone, Andrew Meier, ORG, Dave and Gail Miller, Hartway Motors, Rita Zambito/Zambito Realty, Medina Sandstone Trust, Marcia Tuohey, Chris and Cynthia Busch, and the Medina Fire Department Local 2160.