Fair Haven: The World’s Oyster mural by Russell Rainbolt in Fair Haven

Russell Rainbolt. Fair Haven: The World’s Oyster, 2026

The mural can be found at the corner of Grand Avenue and Ferry Street. The artist is Russell Rainbolt, who for 30+ years has been painting murals, billboards as well as very large renderings of Super Heroes.

Site Projects selected Rainbolt to design and paint the mural. It depicts Fair Haven in the last half of the 19th century at a time when Fair Haven was the oystering capitol of America’s East Coast.

We hope this artwork will inspire more questions than it answers - always one of our goals. Some of those questions might be answered by an accompanying narrative by Ian Dudley, a Head Teacher at Cold Springs School in Fair Haven.

About the Artist

Russell Rainbolt is a New Haven-based artist known for his large-scale murals and public artworks. For more than 30 years, he has created murals, billboards, and large-format paintings throughout Connecticut, developing a reputation for transforming public spaces through bold imagery and storytelling. His work often draws on local history, community identity, and shared cultural experiences.

For Site Projects' Fair Haven: The World's Oyster, Rainbolt created a mural celebrating Fair Haven's rich oystering heritage and its role as a thriving waterfront community in the nineteenth century. Through detailed historical references and vibrant visual storytelling, the artwork invites viewers to reflect on the neighborhood's past and its continuing connection to New Haven's cultural landscape.

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