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On Saturday morning the city of
Lincoln hosted a ribbon cut for the new Route 66 mural that
overlooks the Welcome Garden at the corner of Pekin and Kickapoo
Streets in Lincoln.
Those present for the cut included Mayor Tracy Welch, aldermen Kevin
Bateman, Dennis Clemons, David Sanders, Steve Parrott, former
alderman Rick Hoefle, City Clerk Peggy Bateman, County Board members
Lance Conahan and Kathy Schmidt and Fernando Leon representing the
Rio Grande Restaurant.
For this cut, the speeches began and ended with Hoefle and Parrott.
Hoefle was invited to attend as the person who got the ball rolling
on doing the mural a number of years ago. When he resigned from the
Lincoln City council Parrott stepped in and kept the momentum going
until the project was complete late last year.
The mural was commissioned to Scott Lindley who has done several
wonderful pieces of outdoor art in Lincoln and Mt. Pulaski. He was
unable to attend the ribbon cut on Saturday but was mentioned by
Parrott.
Hoefle started the day honoring his
late wife Leslie Hoefle who had the vision for the Welcome Garden
and worked with the downtown businesses, city of Lincoln and the
Logan County Tourism Bureau to make it happen.
Hoefle said that the mayor, Parrot and himself began working on this
project as an attraction for Route 66 and in conjunction with a
vision to renew all the murals in town. He said that they had
decided that they wanted something special at the welcome garden.
“We wanted people to be able to stand on the sidewalk and take a
picture with all of this involved in the background.”
Parrott said that carrying out the
vision of both the Hoefle’s the city had really wanted to showcase
all the attractions in Lincoln as they travel Route 66 through town.
He noted specific details such as the Mill on Route 66, Abraham
Lincoln, the Logan County Courthouse and even the hot air balloons
as things that bring people to Lincoln and are memorable
attractions.
Parrott offered words of
appreciation to Langley and the city council. He added it had been a
long time coming, approximately 6 years.
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When Parrott finished, Hoefle added
a quick note of thanks to Fernando Leon and his father Ernesto for
their willingness to work with the city of Lincoln for the good of
the mural.
When the original proposal for the mural was presented, the concept
included placing the mural directly on the side of the Rio Grande
Building. However, city zoning officer Wess Woodhall upon inspection
of the building and review of the specifications for the mural
surmised that mounting the large heavy structure directly onto the
building would cause structural stress on the building. Therefore,
large metal polls were planted along the edge of the building and
the mural was mounted on those.
With Hoefle and Parrot finished,
the group posed for the official picture then Hoefle and Parrot
snipped the ribbon.
The mural is bright and colorful
and catches the eye of all who come into the city from the north.
The goal is to see more people stop their cars, get out, enjoy the
garden and the mural, then spend time stretching their legs while
checking out the downtown area.
With the 100th anniversary of Route 66 coming in 2026, the mural
will be a valuable asset to the community, bringing tourists into
the downtown area.
[Nila Smith] |
