By Brenna Wiegand
A generous donation from the Roth Family Foundation is making possible the final flourish to the exterior of Mount Angel Community Festhalle.
Roth’s granted Mount Angel Community Foundation $10,000 for a 16-by-24-foot mural encapsulating the town of Mount Angel.
“You can stand in front of the mural and virtually see the whole community,” Mount Angel Community Foundation President John Gooley said. “This will finish the front of the building, which is already beautiful.”
Mount Angel Chamber of Commerce chimed in with a $3,000 donation for the mural’s installation.
The mural will be painted by David McDonald, who has painted 12 Silverton murals.
McDonald, Gooley and Silverton architect Victor Madge met several times to develop a design that depicts the spirit
and landmarks of Mount Angel.
“We wanted the entire town of Mount Angel to be reflected in that mural,” Gooley said. “You’re going to see Mount Hood and Abbey Hill in the background; you’ll see the church, the train station, and right in the middle are Oktoberfest dancers.”
“When I look at the building I always ache to see the mural in place,” Madge said. That’s how I originally envisioned it. This is really the crowning touch to the outside.”
Madge and fellow Silverton architect Mike Wellman produced the conceptual design for the Festhalle itself and Madge ran with it.
“It was great fun; very rewarding,” Madge said. “One of the things I brought to the table was a sense of design authenticity on the interior; the beefiness of the wood elements and the traditional proportions of Bavarian architecture that was something I am really proud of.”
The building was designed as a community gathering spot with space behind for wedding preparations, a commercial kitchen and upstairs, meeting rooms, including a boardroom for the Mount Angel Community Foundation.
However, the crowning glory of the interior is yet to come. Plans also call for a mezzanine encircling the main gathering area.
“You’ll be able to sit at tables and look down into the main space like you see in all the traditional Bavarian beer tents,” Madge said. “There will be a second bar, food and additional bathrooms. These are all things that have yet to be fund-raised for but once it’s done it’s just going to be amazing.
“It will make that big empty space feel more intimate, allow for better acoustics and will just be a great place to be able to look down on the stage and interact in the space,” Madge said.
Under Orville Roth’s leadership, Roth Family Foundation was among the first to donate to the Festhalle construction project. Later they provided an oven with a top grill for the Festhalle kitchen. Orville passed away in 2013, and Michael Roth said this mural is just what his dad would have wanted.
“The Oktoberfest was truly one of the highlights of the year for Orville,” Michael Roth said. “He thoroughly enjoyed every minute that he was walking the grounds, dancing or listening to the bands. He loved the community spirit and seeing his friends there.”
In addition to his Silverton murals, McDonald has created others elsewhere, including Sacramento, California and Washington D.C., where he was in the Army Honor Guard.
“We did funerals at Arlington Cemetery and security for the White House but somehow I managed to hustle this really cushy job and most of the time I was doing murals,” he said.
“I’ve been doing this a long time,” he added. “When I was in elementary school I was putting butcher paper up on the wall and at lunch would go in and make a mural about the American Revolution. I was the class artist.”
McDonald said he owes a debt of gratitude to longtime Oktoberfest costumer Marilyn Hall, who spent hours showing him pictures of costumes and dancers.
“By the end of that afternoon all the hard work was done,” McDonald said.
McDonald has been a Roth’s employee for more than 15 years.
“That’s where I do the real hard work,” he said. “I have to do signs; I have to spell and get the prices right.”
“We’re very, very pleased,” Gooley said. “The Roth family has been so kind to the Foundation so many times. It’s really incredible how they’ve stepped up to the plate every time they’ve been asked.”
The mural is expected to be installed in early June, with a public unveiling shortly thereafter.
