The first mural of the Oak Street tunnel will depict dahlias in honor of Zionsville's Dahlia City history. Submitted image.
The second mural under the bridge at Bloor Street will show visitors various pollinators in the area. Submitted image
The town of Jamestown consulted local historians to create the rendering of its local mural. Submitted image
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In the 31-year history of the Community Foundation of Boone County (CFBC), the single largest grant of $150,000 was given to public art initiatives on the Big 4 Rail Trail.
They began with the two towns not on the Big 4 Rail Trail - Jamestown and Advance - unveiling a mural in each community last year.
This year, in cooperation with the Zionsville Parks and Recreation and the CFBC, residents and visitors can watch the progression of three more murals created in Zionsville.
“We’re working together to make the Big 4 Rail Trail a regional system within our towns,” said Jarod Logsdon, superintendent of Zionsville’s Parks and Recreation. “We just opened the southern expansion and the northern expansion is expected to be awarded next week which will take us to the Whitestown municipal border.”
The three murals will be placed in the existing trail this summer. The first will be at the Oak Street tunnel, highlighting the history of Zionsville as Dahlia City.
The second will be on the underside of the Bloor Street bridge, depicting Zionsville’s native pollinator species, and the third will be in the tunnel at Mulberry Street, featuring the inside of a log, displaying animals and species found native to the Zionsville area.
Artists Blice and Edwards listened to the ideas suggested by Zionsville staff and created the three renderings.
“Blice and Edwards are fantastic,” Logsdon said. “They perfectly captured what we wanted as far as the nature in Zionsville.”
The muralists were also the creators of the Jamestown and Advance murals.
“They have such a passion for small towns and community art. The feedback on the completed murals has been off-the-charts fabulous,” said Jodi Gietl, president and CEO of CFBC. “Public art provides a connection to Boone County and the communities.”
For example, at the completion of the Jamestown and Advance murals, posts on social media have shown high school seniors getting their photos taken in front of the artwork, a classic car show in Advance with the mural as a backdrop, and visitors to the respective towns posing for photos.
“It creates a cultural identity,” said Jess Stokely, director of Connect Boone County. “These are very Instagrammable moments. It’s a purpose and a reason to post on social media and there’s a bigger picture. They are proud of it.”
Not only will the murals create beauty in the area, there’s an educational component too.
Dahlia City dates back to the early 1930s. Zionsville celebrated two dahlia gardeners, both of which were nationally recognized and one took their dahlias to the 1933 World Fair.
“This is about connection,” Gietl said. “When the Big 4 Rail Trail is complete, there will be 28.3 miles in a diagonal bisect across the county. We will connect to the Monon Trail and when all of the pieces are connected, there will be a 60-mile loop. When you come in for a bike race or social event, these murals will identify which town you are in. Each of the towns will benefit socioeconomically in terms of interest and, hopefully, they encourage visitors to stop in, get something to eat or shop at the local stores.”
The CFBC is in a unique position to see the entire county as a whole. Many residents may not realize what their nearby town has to offer.
“In some ways, we’re lacking connection,” said Julie Reagan, CFBC director of marketing. “We’re excited to bring people together through art. For example, residents of Zionsville will go out to Advance to see that mural and it may teach them something about the community.”
The murals also bring together groups in the community that have been working on these concepts for much longer than the public may have been aware.
The Friends of Boone County Trails is a 501c3 non-profit that paved the way for all of Boone County to enjoy the existing and future trails. In addition, those that donate to the arts in Boone County through the CFBC create the funds used for the project.
“We have many different funds at the CFBC,” Stokely said. “There is a Community Arts Endowment fund and our job is to work with those dollars and the purpose of that particular fund. So, we have people that have been donating for 20 years and making this community impact for the future.”
The CFBC grant also includes a signage package, with mile markers along the trail every .5 and 1 mile, making it clear to travelers where they are and supporting first responders with identifying signs.
The three murals in Zionsville are expected to be complete by the end of this summer.
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