Works of Art in every neighborhood
Joliet has gained national acclaim for the more than 80 murals, mosaics
and sculptures celebrating the city's history and ethnic diversity located
in neighborhoods throughout the city. Friends of Community Public Art,
a group of professional artists who specialize in working with the community
on public art projects, developed these artworks in collaboration with
local residents and civic, business, labor, education and cultural organizations.
The following are examples of murals on or near the driving tour route.
For more information and a mural tour map call the Heritage Corridor Convention
and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-926-CANAL.
German Heritage Part I
(detail - click for larger view)
Location: South side of Columbia St. at Scott St. Lead
Artists: Thomas Manley and Dante DiBartolo
Assistant Artist: Erin Jordan
“This mural reflects the influence of German immigrants on the Joliet
area. Its design recalls successive images from a photograph album, connected
by a flowing banner of the German national colors, then becoming the red,
white, and blue of the American flag.”
From the Hands of Ceres: Ode to Will County Farmers (detail - click
for larger view)
Location: East side of the 500 block of Scott St.Lead Artists: Kathleen
Scarboro and Kathleen Farrell
Assistant Artist: Dante DiBartolo
“This mural honors the life-giving properties of agriculture, as
well as area farmers whose labor puts food on our tables.”
Joliet Limestone: Our Canals and Quarries
(detail - click for larger view)
Location: East retaining wall of the Des Plaines River at Washington St.
Lead Artists: Kathleen Farrell and Kathleen Scarboro
Assistant Artists: Dante DiBartolo, Carla Carr, David Wilson, Eric Standish,
Jeanne Zimmerman, Erin Jordan and Javier Chavira
“Exceptional in its historical detail and social conscience, this
mural honors the canal and quarry workers who literally helped build the
City of Stone throughout the nineteenth century”.
Bluff Street Architecture in 1840
(detail - click for larger view)
Location: South side of West Jefferson St. at Bluff St.
Lead Artists: Kathleen Scarboro and Kathleen Farrell
Assistant Artists: Sergio Gomez, Javier Chavira, Carla Carr, Jesus Rodriguez
and Eric Standish
“Starting at the east end of the block, this mural depicts a nostalgic
panorama of life (and architecture) along Bluff Street. It highlights
Merchant’s Row which, between 1837 and 1899, transformed the district
from a tranquil settlement into a prosperous city.”
From: "Murals: The Great Walls of Joliet" by Jeff Huebner
©2002 Canal Corridor Association
