LOGAN SQUARE — Milwaukee Avenue is quickly becoming an outdoor art exhibit in Logan Square.
A new wall joined a strip of street art hubs this week as Property Markets Group invited local graffiti artists to paint on 300 feet of construction fencing at 2211 N. Milwaukee Ave., the future site of the “L” residential development.
Locals may recall the formerly mysterious glowing “L” that brightened the vacant lot at the same address in January. The lighted, translucent shape and the new graffiti wall are part of a string of art installations turned marketing strategies at the location — all leading up to the construction of 120 luxury units, a project that broke ground in April.
“The goal was to activate the streetscape, engage the community and provide space for the creation of public art,” according to Noah Gottlieb, senior managing director of Property Markets Group.
With the help of Galerie F co-owner Billy Craven and local artist AMUSE126, Property Markets Group created a large-scale public mural featuring 10 local and national artists, including Frank Quintero, Sege, Amuse126, Merlot, Fonte, Pikel, Elotes, Morgan, Phor, Woes, Cove and Like.One, Gottlieb said.
The site is one of at least three collective “permission walls” along the Milwaukee Avenue Corridor in Logan Square, including a set of pieces behind Milwaukee and California Produce, 2110 North Milwaukee Ave., and the Mega Wall hosted on a CTA-owned wall beside the Mega Mall (soon-to-be Logan's Crossing) at 2500 N Milwaukee Ave.
And it's one of several dozen high-quality, rotating pieces found along the corridor, along alleys, train stations, businesses and homes.
Work on the “L” art wall continued Wednesday, hours before another local group, Somos Logan Square, arrived to protest the incoming units, which they say will raise property values and reserve prime public transportation-adjacent land for the wealthy.
(DNAinfo/Darryl Holliday)
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