EDGEBROOK — The final phase of work on a paint and mosaic mural along the western portion of the path under the Metra tracks at Lehigh, Hiawatha and Kinzua avenues is underway, organizers said.
Residents can join in the work from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday through Aug. 15, said Jac Charlier, a member of the Edgebrook Community Association board of directors, who has been coordinating the five-year-long project.
The second phase of the mural — known as the Neighborhood Connection Project— along the western side of underpass linking Edgebrook, Wildwood and North Edgebrook was completed last summer, with the eastern side of the mural completed in 2013.
For the third year in a row, 30 teens are at work on the mural as part of the city's After School Matters program. Artists from the community and Green Star Movement are supervising the teens working to turn the underpass, once a crumbling, graffiti-covered disgrace, into a landmark depicting the area's history and lush vegetation.
Once the two sides of the mural are connected with golden tiles — representing the golden spike that once joined the train tracks across America — it will be the largest public art project on the Far Northwest Side, Charlier said.
Both city and suburban residents are invited to participate in the creation of the mural — regardless of their artistic talents — and all who contribute will get their names on one of the golden tiles in recogniton, Charlier said.
For more information, email Charlier at jac.charlier@gmail.com.
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