News
Apr 14 2010
Murals to show Lincoln Highway of the past
History is coming alive along the 179- mile Illinois Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway.
New Lenox and University Park are two of 40 sites where murals will be installed to promote the communities and attract visitors to the corridor. Each 10-by-20-foot mural is designed to tell a story and recognize the significance of the highway.
New Lenox's story explains the triangle of land between Haven Avenue, Cedar Road and U.S. 30.
In 1920, there was a dance hall smack in the middle of what now is the highway. The road detoured at Cedar Road and went around the dance hall to Haven and back over to what continues to be the main road through town. The dance hall had to be moved to make way for a paved Lincoln Highway in 1924.
It moved a bit south to where the 7-Eleven sits today and became a bowling alley in 1940, according to Diane Batson, of the New Lenox Area Historical Society.
The society wants to re-create the dance hall on the mural.
"It was more than a dance hall. It was a social gathering place," Batson said.
The mural will be painted on panels and mounted on the wall of a business on the northwest corner of U.S. 30 and Cedar, marking the original location of the popular dance hall.
But first, the coalition needs a "viable image" of the building so its artist can create a rendering, the coalition's program director Sue Hronik said.
The historical society is searching for a good photograph of the old building and researching what dance halls of that time looked like, Batson said.
Artist Jay Allen, of ShawCraft Signs in Machesney Park, completed six murals in University Park, Joliet, Aurora, Oregon, Genoa and Cortland, but the one in University Park has yet to be installed at 580 Farmview Road, Hronik said.
That will tell the story of the Van Buren sisters who in 1916 became the first women to "solo" the highway on their Indian motorcycles. According to the coalition's Web site, they were arrested once on their trip for wearing men's clothing. The year after they rode the highway, Illinois became the first state to ratify women's suffrage.
"The murals are designed to be viewed at two levels," Hronik said.
Drivers can view them as they drive by, or visitors can stop for a closer look and read the information that accompanies each one.
With grant funds from the Federal Highway Administration and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the coalition installs the murals for free, but they are valued at $10,000 each.
New Lenox also is one of 16 sites where informational gazebos have been installed by the coalition.
More information is at www.drivelincolnhighway.com.
New Lenox and University Park are two of 40 sites where murals will be installed to promote the communities and attract visitors to the corridor. Each 10-by-20-foot mural is designed to tell a story and recognize the significance of the highway.
New Lenox's story explains the triangle of land between Haven Avenue, Cedar Road and U.S. 30.
In 1920, there was a dance hall smack in the middle of what now is the highway. The road detoured at Cedar Road and went around the dance hall to Haven and back over to what continues to be the main road through town. The dance hall had to be moved to make way for a paved Lincoln Highway in 1924.
It moved a bit south to where the 7-Eleven sits today and became a bowling alley in 1940, according to Diane Batson, of the New Lenox Area Historical Society.
The society wants to re-create the dance hall on the mural.
"It was more than a dance hall. It was a social gathering place," Batson said.
The mural will be painted on panels and mounted on the wall of a business on the northwest corner of U.S. 30 and Cedar, marking the original location of the popular dance hall.
But first, the coalition needs a "viable image" of the building so its artist can create a rendering, the coalition's program director Sue Hronik said.
The historical society is searching for a good photograph of the old building and researching what dance halls of that time looked like, Batson said.
Artist Jay Allen, of ShawCraft Signs in Machesney Park, completed six murals in University Park, Joliet, Aurora, Oregon, Genoa and Cortland, but the one in University Park has yet to be installed at 580 Farmview Road, Hronik said.
That will tell the story of the Van Buren sisters who in 1916 became the first women to "solo" the highway on their Indian motorcycles. According to the coalition's Web site, they were arrested once on their trip for wearing men's clothing. The year after they rode the highway, Illinois became the first state to ratify women's suffrage.
"The murals are designed to be viewed at two levels," Hronik said.
Drivers can view them as they drive by, or visitors can stop for a closer look and read the information that accompanies each one.
With grant funds from the Federal Highway Administration and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the coalition installs the murals for free, but they are valued at $10,000 each.
New Lenox also is one of 16 sites where informational gazebos have been installed by the coalition.
More information is at www.drivelincolnhighway.com.
