The community book box at Summit Park in Blue Ash now sports a hand-painted mural of local wildlife, courtesy of a parks department employee named Jason.
The free-standing take-a-book, leave-a-book station near the park's Water Corridor features a heron wading among lily pads, two hawks perched on branches, and a bluebird and cardinal painted across its panels. Summit Park's official account announced the makeover on Thursday, Aug. 20, crediting "Jason from our Parks team" with the artwork.
The book box is free to use.
Visitors can grab a title or leave one behind at any time, no library card or sign-up required. The park's Facebook page describes the station as a great stop for families exploring the grounds, and the painted panels now make it easier to spot from the nearby walking paths.
Summit Park spans 130 acres at 4335 Glendale Milford Road in the center of Blue Ash. The Water Corridor, where the book box sits, is one of more than a dozen named features in the park, alongside the Observation Tower, Children's Nature Playscape, dog park, fishing pond and Great Lawn. The painted box adds a small but visible creative touch to a stretch of the park that already draws foot traffic from families and dog walkers moving between the playscape and the pond.
No formal unveiling is planned. The box is already in place and open to anyone passing through.
For residents who haven't visited the book box before, it works on the honor system: take what interests you, return it when you're done or swap in something from your own shelf. Children's books, paperback novels and nonfiction titles all circulate through the box depending on what neighbors contribute.
The hand-painted panels mark the kind of small-scale staff project that often goes unnoticed but shapes the day-to-day feel of a public space. Jason's artwork gives the station a look distinct from the plain wooden book boxes found in many parks and neighborhoods across the region.
Coming up in Blue Ash and Montgomery:
- Blue Ash police host a free open house on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
- A mid-week farmers' market opens at Montgomery Quarter on Wednesday, Aug. 26.
