Billboard murals coming to Hodag Park

Part of Rhinelander’s Hodag Park is set to become a canvas after the common council last week approved a public art project involving the installation of billboard murals near the site of the future skatepark. The initiative is designed to enrich the park’s atmosphere and engage residents through art, according to the resolution authorizing the project.
The city’s public art commission approved the project in May, according to the resolution presented to the alderpersons.
“In short, we’re looking to install four different murals, three by local artists,” explained Ashley McLaughlin of ArtStart, the local arts and cultural center partnering on the project. “The murals are about 8X4or 8X6. They’re pre-printed panel murals, and then they will be secured through posts and concrete down at Hodag Park to the east side at the beach house, and the expected life of the murals would be about two years.”
The City of Rhinelander and ArtStart Rhinelander received a grant to create the murals, McLaughlin explained.
According to the application submitted to the public art commission, a call for skatepark muralists was advertised back in March. Thirteen artists applied and four artists were selected. The artists created sketches that represent what they will create for these billboard murals. “There are two phases to the mural project,” the application states. “The first phase will be a two-year temporary display of the artworks on billboards. The second phase will incorporate the artworks into the permanent skate park.”

McLaughlin noted that the artwork can be deinstalled if it’s damaged.
The skatepark project dates back to December 2021 when a group of young people, members of the skateboard group Over It, attended a common council meeting to request the city building a new skatepark. A previous skatepark, located behind the police and fire department building, closed in the ‘90s and the young people were looking for a safe place to gather.
The alderpersons responded positively and a feasibility study followed in 2022. The council also voted to earmark $75,000 for engineering and design of a skate park.In December 2024, the city chose Hunger Skateparks, a full service concrete skate park design and build company headquartered in Bloomington, Ind., to begin the project. A preliminary estimate for the park’s size is 10,000 to 14,000 square feet and the hope is construction will begin in the summer of 2026. Fundraising is ongoing. For more information, visit www.rhinelanderskatepark.com/