Valley Health System is bringing the iconic Alexander’s mural back home to Paramus after a 30-year hiatus. Shown here is a rendering of how panels from the mural will be displayed on the new hospital’s campus.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, Valley Health System is bringing the iconic Alexander’s mural back home to Paramus after a 30-year hiatus.
The panels will find their new home on the campus of The Valley Hospital, currently being constructed in Paramus. The panels will be within the hospital as well as in the gardens that surround the campus.
“We are delighted to be able to bring the Alexander’s mural home to Paramus as part of our new hospital campus,” said Audrey Meyers, President and CEO of The Valley Hospital and Valley Health System. “This new hospital will allow us to raise the bar in all that we do. It will revolutionize how we deliver extraordinary healthcare, strengthen our ability to help people in our community live healthier lives, and provide the flexibility necessary to adapt to changes in healthcare delivery.”
The 200-foot-long mural, made of 280 4-by-8-foot panels of enamel and glass on steel, was created by Polish artist Stefan Knapp, a WWII prison camp survivor, and was installed on the Alexander’s department store building in Paramus in 1964. The murals were saved when Alexander’s, which was located near the intersection of Routes 4 and 17, closed in 1992. In 2015, the panels were put on display in the Art Factory, an artists’ studio space at a former textile mill in Paterson. The Bergen Museum of Art & Science has served as a steward of the mural.
“Paramus is proud to be the future home of The Valley Hospital and the inclusion of the panels in its design is yet another example of the positive impact Valley his having in our community,” said Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera. “Thank you to Valley for listening to our residents, paying tribute to our community’s history, and bringing the mural back home.”
“These panels are a big part of the borough’s history, and incorporating them into the new Valley Hospital will allow the community to once again share in their beauty,” said Joseph Lorino, Vice President of Facilities Management, Valley Health System. “We are very pleased that the Knapp panels are coming back to Paramus.”
The hospital will use about 50 of the 280 panels to decorate various areas around the new hospital and inside the hospital itself, according to Robin Goldfischer, Senior Vice President of Legal Services, who spearheaded the acquisition of the mural.
“There is a tremendous amount of interest in these panels,” Goldfischer said.” They are spectacular works of art.”
The new hospital is scheduled to open in December 2023.
The Valley Hospital Foundation is currently accepting donations to name individual panels on the campus. For more information about these opportunities, please contact the Foundation at 201-291-6300 or at VHF@ValleyHospitalFoundation.org
The entire mural should be displayed as it was at Alexander’s. This is going to look like shit in comparison.
Do it right or don’t do it at all.
Install the mural as it was meant to be seen.
Agreed.
they ruined it.
Not surprising
Better than sitting in a warehouse. I say, let’s make multitudes of these and place them around the county. A moving (or static) art show. A town can offer to pay for their own display. As long as the panels get used, I’m all for it.
anon knows nothing of art.
why not chop up other works of art and place them around the country.
It’s been 40 years in a warehouse, great to see its being transformed and displayed. It’s iconic, it’s genious. If there is space somewhere to display it in full that would be great, but doesn’t seem anyone wants to take that on.
I have really mixed feelings. I HATE the idea of it not being displayed as it was originally created, but as that has not happened in 40 years, this may be the best option for having it seen at all. That does not make me happy, but I am enough of a realist to accept this as probably the only chance for viewing in my remaining years.
Displaying individual panels or groups thereof is completely antithetical to the original artwork and intent of the artist. The entire mural – all 280 panels intact – needs to be on display, if not at Valley Hospital – some other Paramus location. Liked minded citizens need to band together and organize a public protest.