As part of the Edmonds Police Department’s centennial anniversary Oct. 16, employees are raising money to hire Edmonds artist Andy Eccleshall to paint a historically significant mural inside the police station.
has created two murals in town for the Edmonds Mural Society: “Edmonds Mills” and “The Brothers.”
The community that became Edmonds developed from the original homestead of in 1876. Edmonds was officially incorporated in 1890, and in 1912 the police department was established by the City Council and then Mayor A. L. Waddle by Ordinance No. 254.
In 1910, a grant from the Carnegie Foundation enabled the City of Edmonds to build a brick and stone building at 118 Fifth Ave. N. That building, which still stands today, housed the library on the upper floor and City Hall on the lower floor.
The lower level included offices for city business, the council chambers, police department and city jail. The building has since been placed on the National Register of Historic Buildings and currently houses the m.
The image of that original police station, with a vintage city police car parked out front, will be the basis of the new mural. The artwork is intended for the large open stairwell that links the first and second floors of today’s police station, which is part of the Public Safety Complex at Five Avenue North and Bell Street.
“The mural will provide all police employees and station visitors a convenient reminder of our humble beginnings 100 years ago,” said Sgt. Mike Blackburn. “In 1912, the police department was staffed by one marshal. Today our city of over 39,000 residents is served by a police department of 54 commissioned officers and 11 civilian staff members.”
The employees of the Edmonds Police Department are paying for the mural without cost to the city.
A fundraising effort has been established where employees are offering for sale coffee cups, travel mugs, water bottles, glass steins and reusable grocery bags bearing various Edmonds Police patch and badge designs.
