On Thursday, Main Street Bath revealed a new mural on the concrete wall at the corner of Vine and Front streets in Bath.

The mural by Maine artist Christopher Cart was dedicated in honor of Main Street Bath’s 15-year anniversary. The mural, titled “Spirit of Bath, City of Ships,” depicts iconic images from the history of Bath along a 21-foot stretch of concrete facing out from the end of Front Street.

“They wanted to have the spirit of Bath as the concept,” said Cart. “It was focused mostly on the labor and the people working and building the town, but I wanted to have some fun in there too.”

For Cart, images of welding, shipbuilding, ice cutting and commerce display the rich and varied history of Bath.

The mural has been in the works for more than a year, as a way to demonstrate the history and community of Bath while also providing directions for traffic.

“I think it was important for the community to establish a new gateway — something that represented who we are and the beauty of the downtown,” said Jake Korb, director of Main Street Bath.

For Korb, the final product was beyond expectations.

“We were lucky to have a local artist who had the talent and who had a vision to represent not only just pieces of Bath, but all of Bath throughout a period of time,” said Korb.

Cart notes that he’s been working on the mural in stages since March, although the actual painting of the mural took just three weeks.

Cart, who grew up in Phippsburg, said that having his art displayed so prominently in Bath was something of a childhood dream.

“I remember coming into town, when we did come into Bath as a kid, and seeing the Zorach sculpture over by the library and thinking, ‘oh y’know, maybe someday I’ll have a piece of art in Bath, this will be so cool,’” said Cart.

So when he was first alerted to the request for proposals for the mural, knew he had to be the one to do it.

Nearly two dozen people came out to watch the unveiling.

Bath residents Rex and Cynthia Edmonds were enthusiastic about the new mural.

“Love it,” said Cynthia. “It’s long overdue to have something on this wall which is one of the first things people see coming from the north, and now it’s a great asset. And I love that it has directions.”

nstrout@timesrecord.com