New Tinner Hill Mural in Falls Church Celebrated, Historic District Designation Pending

Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last, where the bright gleam of our bright star is cast…

~ From “Lift Every Voice and Sing”

On a spectacular, sunny Spring morning this past Saturday, June 15, the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation (THHF) of Falls Church held a joyous dedication ceremony, followed by a celebratory chicken and fish fry, for the recently unveiled mural, “Welcome to Tinner Hill” – grandly displayed on the side exterior wall of Ace Tool & Equipment at the intersection of S. Washington Blvd. and Tinner Hill Rd. in Falls Church. 

The Mural 

Against a bright blue clear-sky background, the mural – painted in strikingly vibrant tones by local artist Bryan King – depicts influential civil rights, business, cultural, and educational figures and early residents of the historically segregated Tinner Hill neighborhood of Falls Church, Virginia, embedded within the lettering of the message “Welcome to Tinner Hill, established 1872.” 

Visual references to the Tinner Hill Arch, the Black community’s churches and ministers, the Falls Church Colored School, founding community leaders Joseph Tinner, Dr. E.B. Henderson, and educators Mary Ellen Henderson and Lola Saunders are included in the lettering, while in the background a wayfaring arrow points to the Tinner Hill Historic site up the hill to the left, a White milkman exits his truck on a delivery to Tinners Hill Street, and an American flag flies proudly in the breeze over the well-established Black community, racially segregated then from City of Falls Church. 

At the Saturday dedication, muralist Bryan King told The Falls Church Independent an interesting story about two figures in the mural. The White milkman exiting his truck serves as an homage to the father of the man who owns the wall on which the mural is painted – Ace Tool’s owner, Bryce Schwarzmann’s 94-year-old father, Robert (Bob) Schwarzmann. As a milkman, Robert Schwarzmann used to deliver milk to famed composer and orchestra leader Duke Ellington when “The Duke” lived in a segregated section of Falls Church. And you can see Duke Ellington portrayed in the “I” of the mural’s lettering.

According to THHF, the mural “serves as a beacon to one of the historically African American areas of Falls Church, Virginia, founded in 1872 by Charles Tinner – an outstanding Stonemason – and his wife Elizabeth, who purchased land for their family, built a home (which still stands today), and divided the land among their ten children to build their own homes,” as reported by the Falls Church Pulse.

“In 1915, after the town of Falls Church proposed racially segregating housing, nine men gathered in the home of Joseph and Mary Tinner to organize and oppose the ordinance. This group, led by Joseph Tinner and Edwin B. Henderson would (in 1918) become the first rural branch of the NAACP in the nation and fight discrimination and injustice throughout Northern Virginia. Images in the mural are based on the Tinner Hill neighborhood, which remains intact today, and historic photographs from the Tinner Hill Family Collection, the Henderson Family Collection and the Collection of THHF,” the Pulse wrote. 

"The THHF’s Mural Committee consisted of board members, Irene Chambers, Mike Everett, Nikki Graves Henderson, and members of the Social Justice Committee of Falls Church and Vicinity as well as Tinner Hill family members, including Rebecca Tinner,” the Pulse reported. “Funding for the mural came from the City, the Community Foundation of Northern Virginia, Arts and Humanities Council grants, City resident Kenneth Feltman, and others.”

A Joyous Dedication Ceremony

Launching the ceremony in a stentorian yet humble voice, Rev. James Page, Jr., of nearby Galloway United Methodist Church – attended by many Tinner Hill families today – offered a rousing Invocation with eyes closed reverently. “God, as we gather under this tent, and are viewing this mural painted on this wall, we ask that you continue to help us remember our past and to use the things we went through in the past as stepping stones…,” toward a brighter future, Page prayed. “This morning, as we celebrate Tinner Hill, we celebrate the men and women who laid down ‘done work’ just so this could be possible… God, we thank you for the leadership that put this together and we thank you for the leadership of this community of Falls Church. We thank you for all they have done and are doing to make sure that racism and all the other things that separate us are no longer part of this community.” 

Remarkably, Rev. Page then asked for praise for the City’s police department – a “United Nations built within the Little City” – as a sterling example of where to look to see “how we have become one community." With new Police Chief Sharham Fard on hand with several male and female officers, the diversity and racial sensitivity of the City’s police department would be praised numerous times by multiple speakers throughout the ceremony.

The City’s Deputy Mayor, Debbie Hiscott, then praised THHF for the “great example of [their] resiliency and creativity through so many rough days in our history,” adding, “I, for one, think it’s just going to be fantastic to be driving by this beautiful mural we’re going to be seeing on the daily, that [will keep] reminding us about what’s important about our history and what’s important about working together for our future.”

In one of the most emotional moments of the dedication, Peter Adriance – the social justice activist who originally put the idea of the mural project into motion – and Nikki Graves Henderson, granddaughter of the founding Henderson family, who worked with Adriance and members of the THHF Mural Committee to get the project completed, spoke together. 

“The power of murals is incredible as we’re feeling right now,” Adriance, who traveled from Montreal to be at the ceremony, said. “But, back then [5 years ago] this wall was a big blank and you could drive down Route 29 headed this way, pass by the Tinner Hill monument, pass by the walkway that’s got the Tinner Hill history embedded in it and you’d never know what was here and the Tinner property up there and all the history, right? So, we started working on this, and our prime objective was this wall – to turn it from a blank to a beautiful testimony to the rich history of this area.” 

“He’s right,” Nikki Henderson said. "It has been five years we’ve worked on this project, but I would be remiss if I did not say this is truly the power of the Almighty that made this realized.” She thanked Ace Tool owner Bryce Schwarzmann for giving the project a thumb’s up. “Not only did he have to approve this design, but his 94-year-old father, as well as his family and associates,” had to concur. 

The Idea of a Mural District

Then Henderson returned praise to Peter Adriance. “Peter is very modest, because he came with the idea of a mural district which we had talked about – and only talked about. But, he came with a map drawn up beautifully and professionally and he identified 20 sites where we could have murals that pertain to and reflect the history of this community. And it has taken 5 years to get this one – which we felt was the prime site – up.”

“I think it shows the resilience of this community, not just myself, my husband [Edwin Henderson II], Irene Chamber, Linda Singletary, but then we had a follow-up crew, after we were so drained we couldn’t go on anymore,” Henderson said. “We went to the City, we went to the Northern Virginia Community Foundation, we had all kinds of grants written, mostly by Linda, and finally, we begged for money,” Henderson recounted. “... But, we kept on and we kept on.”

“All I can say is that I’m truly, truly grateful for all of our friends and supporters,” Henderson said. “I thank my colleagues, I thank my husband, who tolerated me texting in the middle of the night with an idea, I thank all of our community Council members… and our City Manager [Wyatt Shields] in particular. He makes things happen. He acts like he’s so quiet, but he makes things happen and he was a big part of making sure we got what we needed to make this mural actually happen. And then for Peter, to come all the way back from Canada to see this happen? It’s amazing!”

Humorously, Adriance then interjected: “I wouldn’t have missed it even if you had to bring me back on a stretcher!” [Laughs].

“And please, remember this is just the beginning, this is a manifestation of a seed that's been planted, because it’s not just about African American history or civil rights history. This is about American History,” Henderson closed to swelling applause. “It’s not just about one or two families – not just the Tinners or the Hendersons, not just the Lees or the Bryce’s – it is about you and what you put forth for the future, not only for yourself but your children and grandchildren and your neighbors. This is what this is about, remembering the past, so that we have a roadmap for the future.”

City Manager, Wyatt Shields, then shared his excitement that on June 24, the City Council will likely be formally adopting a resolution to declare a Tinner Hill Heritage District in “partnership with the City of Falls Church, Fairfax County, the Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority, and the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation.” 

Shields praised the THHF for helping the City of Falls Church make amends for the past. One of “core missions of [the THHF] is to help us close gaps, to help us heal wounds, to help us fix cracks in our foundation that we need to be a healthy and thriving community,” he said. The organization has helped the city close “a gap in our understanding of our own history,” and helped contribute to the “civic life” of the City as well as making its physical environment "more attractive." Using its “great power,” the THHF has deployed, “the power of persuasion, the power of our relationships, the power of music, and the power of art to affect change” in the community, Shields said, alluding to the THHF’s annual Music Festival, a City favorite.

As he spoke, Shields pointed across Route 29 to the Tinner Hill Monument and History Walk, saying “big buildings like these, they run on financial equity. What this walk does is help build social equity and something we can all feel invested in. The sidewalks along the street and the partnership with the Women’s History Walk – which our Public Works Director Zach Bradley views as one of the most valuable projects he’s ever worked on in this city – The murals you see at the bike shop and that you see on the wall here… all of these help build community… And, it’s really that commitment to building relationships and community that has allowed this to be a success.”

Muralist, Bryan King, said a few words as well. “It was about two or three years ago that I was first approached about this mural and it gives me a great deal of pleasure seeing this finally completed,” he said. After thanking many people and the THHF, he added “I consider it a great honor, personally… and I really consider this [mural] a highlight in my work.” 

“Bryan King has been working as a decorative artisan in the Washington Metropolitan region since 1986,” King's professional bio begins. “He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie-Mellon University and received his M.F.A. in painting from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He is a past recipient of the Washington Building Congress Award for Craftsmanship and an instructor of mural painting for the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program."

Phil Christensen of the Social Justice Committee of the City of Falls Church and Vicinity (affiliated with the THHF) then followed King. Asserting that the Declaration of Independence’s claim that “All men are created equal” is a dream yet unfulfilled for so many, Christensen quoted the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., saying the “moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice," But, he added, "Even though we still have so far to travel so that everyone in this country can claim to have equal opportunity and a fair chance,” Christensen said, “we are continuing to bend that moral arc toward justice.” 

“Acknowledging the courageous example of those African Americans who settled on Tinner Hill and the present residents of the historic district and celebrating the message of this mural, let us today recommit ourselves to a just society for all,” he concluded.

The Rev. Steven L. Martin, president of the Board of THHF, then followed. In one of the most moving moments of the ceremony, Martin painted a picture of the true diversity behind the mural effort. “If you take the permission of the White owner to use his wall, the use of a Korean woman-owned business to prime, powerwash and paint the wall, the permission of a Japanese American owner to provide the workspace, a White muralist to paint and digitize the rendering and all of their African American collaborators, isn’t it remarkable what Americans can do if we cooperate and work together?” Martin asked to resounding applause. 

He then called up Ret. Col. Mike Everett, the most recent Chair of the THHF Mural Committee, and THHF board member, to laud his hard work in seeing the mural project to completion. Presenting Everett with a gift pen set, Rev. Martin cited Everett’s outstanding “leadership by example.” 

Edwin Henderson II, Founder of THHF and son of Dr. E.B. Henderson, also gave thanks and praise to many. Looking ahead, he said, “The Tinner Hill Historical and Cultural District which will be a reality come June 24 will make it so we can come to help improve upon what we have here right now. So, I’m very much looking forward to being partners with the City in that effort… It’s going to be a good thing.”  

Finally, Bryce Schwartzmann, owner of Ace Tool & Equipment rose to say a few words, laconically: “I hope everyone enjoys what they see. I’m sorry I didn’t come over earlier. I’m busy running a little business, so duty takes precedence. So, thanks for coming out.”

A Few Post-Dedication Chats:

As the ceremony closed with a sing along of “What a Wonderful World,” made famous by Louis Armstrong, and attendees were graciously invited for lunch up the hill at the Tinner Hill Historic Site, I scrambled to chat with a few people in attendance.

A Chat with The Artist

I asked muralist Bryan King to elaborate on what made him so proud to have painted the mural. “Well, I believe in what the mural is about,” he said. “And also… this is my community. I live nearby and get a certain amount of pleasure [when] I drive by here and get to see my work… It’s a little bit of having my thumbprint a bit on the landscape as well as on the history of this place.” 

A Surprise About the Artistic Process

King revealed surprising news about his process of painting the original artwork and creating the mural. “The original painting [for the mural] was done in oil and was 31” by 45” inches,” he said. “Then I had it scanned at a very, very high resolution. Then I had a company in Philadelphia that printed it. So this is actually 60 panels that were installed. The file with the needed resolution was massive. Because the original painting had to be enlarged by 144 times.”

The mural itself is not painted directly on the wall of Ace Tool, but a massive Polytab canvas of the printed image from 60 panels is actually glued to the wall. “To handpaint this on the wall was too much to ask of the owner of the shop, to relinquish his parking lot. So, I suggested this [process] as a workaround,” King said. “I think it looks better” than if it were painted on the wall directly, he added. 

The “Welcome to Tinner Hill Mural” gives King “a lot of pleasure now, “to see this all completed and see how positively people have responded to it. One of the things I really like about doing public art is, usually I’m doing something for a private individual and it’s just enjoyed by the people who live in that residence, and I really like doing artwork that’s more democratic and everyone can enjoy it.” 

Nikki Henderson's Thoughts on the Mural

Nikki Henderson said the day was “very encouraging because we worked so hard to try to make this a reality and it’s a big part of the overall vision for this community. This section of town has been kind of neglected in terms of Falls Church City and it’s the most historic area of the City, so this is the beginning of making sure the history is represented.” 

Henderson elaborated on the significance of the mural as an economic boost to the neighborhood of mom-and-pop restaurants and retailers as well as a landmark that will help guide visitors to the Tinner Hill Historic Site, the History Walk, the Tinner Hill Monument, and the Women’s History Walk. She would like to see more wayfinding signage for visitors to connect the various features of interest in the Tinner Hill community.

Looking up at the mural, Henderson described how she felt. The figures portrayed in the mural’s letters “lived and worked here. You’ve got school teachers, the ministers, the residents and the churches and the Tinner Hill Historic Civil Rights Monument. So it resonates with me.”

Rev. James Page, Jr.

The Rev. James Page, Jr. told me, “Today is a day of remembrance of what this community was to a day of what this community is now. For the founders of Tinner HIll, the residents of Tinner Hill are going to be recognized and be immortalized on a wall to let this community know who they were and what they did back in the early Twenties and Thirties and what they did to bring us into the 21st Century and 2024, bringing us together, remembering the past, but looking forward to a new future for Falls Church.” 

For Rev. Page, looking at the mural connects the past and the future. “It speaks to me – someone pointed out that if you stand in the back of the pavilion, Joseph Tinner is looking over the community that he was part of and that he had founded… He is looking over all of this and the way it’s portrayed, even if you stand here, it looks like he’s looking at us in happiness at what’s going on today.”

Marian Costner Selby

Marian Costner Selby, great granddaughter to Joseph Tinner and the first African American student to integrate George Mason High School in the City of Falls Church (now Meridian H.S.) in 1961 emphasized how important the mural will be to help “direct people to the actual historical site” of Tinner Hill, and “once they go there, they will really appreciate the real history.” 

Selby, who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, now, still has Tinner Hill cousins she visits – often bowling together in Falls Church. “The more I get involved with the community of Falls Church,” she said, “the more I realize how open-minded the City is. Even when I visit the schools and look at the curriculum and talk with the children, they’re not inhibited in what they can talk about and I appreciate that.”

By Christopher Jones