AMESBURY — Current and former city officials, community members and local leaders gathered at the new City Hall Thursday for a ribbon cutting and unveiling of mayoral portraits.
The event comes months after the much-discussed move of city headquarters from 62 Friend St. – now the City Hall Annex – to 1 Market St., the former Provident Bank headquarters, earlier this year.
Mayor Kassandra Gove called the space a “perfect fit for the city of Amesbury.”
“It feels like we were meant to be here, and has a lot to offer for generations moving forward for our community,” she said, while addressing the crowd.
Gove also took time to recognize each of the craftspeople and vendors who made the move possible, as well as bank officials and others, inviting representatives of all of the organizations to help her cut the ribbon.
The event also served as an opportunity to unveil portraits of the city’s past mayors, which are now mounted on the walls of the new City Hall.
During her speech to attendees, Gove said when making the move to Market Street, it felt important to have a space to display portraits of past mayors.
“It’s a tradition in many other communities, and not one that we had seen come to fruition here. So, when this relocation was happening, it felt right to make sure that this wall existed in our City Hall, prominently here in what is now the Mayor’s Suite, right off of the front door from Market Square,” she said.
So in that space, portraits of the four mayors preceding Gove; Nicholas J. Costello, David Hildt, Thatcher Kezer and Ken Gray were affixed to the walls and covered to allow for an unveiling.
Unfortunately, Costello, Hildt and Gray have passed away in recent years, but their portraits were unveiled by either Gove or family members, which made for a number of poignant moments.
Kezer, who was in attendance, unveiled his own portrait alongside his son in a heartwarming moment.
“Any of us who have held that office always want to feel like we’ve had a permanent impact on our community, and this is a representation of that. So, it’s terrific to see this done, and it’s good for a city or any community to keep its history for those in future,” Kezer said.
The portraits themselves were painted by a local artist and Amesbury native Nate Bibaud, who was paralyzed after a serious accident in 2010. Bibaud said he spent roughly two months creating the portraits, and expressed that he was thrilled to be a part of city history.
“I’m either a seventh- or eighth-generation Amesbury resident, and I like history and I like my town. So, that was what I was excited about most, was the idea that these will be here long after me,” he said.
After the ribbon was cut and the portraits unveiled, attendees chattered about the move and the new additions to City Hall, including local state Sen. Barry Finegold, who praised Gove for her work on the endeavor.
“I think the mayor deserves a lot of credit, because pulling off something like this, moving to this location was not easy. So, when we talk about her legacy, she deserves a lot of credit for this, it’s an amazing city hall,” he said.
When reflecting on the event, Gove said she was simply happy to have had the chance to honor those who made the city of Amesbury what it is today.
“It’s an incredible pleasure and a real honor to be here and surrounded by these families who are an absolute legacy for our community. I’m grateful that I’m the person to bring us back together as a community, celebrate the leaders who’ve come before us, and it’s just an incredible occasion,” she said.