Forest Park Arts Alliance is planning to invite the public to paint brand-new murals on the Circle Avenue bridge over the Eisenhower Expressway.
The original murals were painted May 13, 2017, and the Arts Alliance traces its origins to the planning effort for that project. Since then, the murals have seen some wear, and the rust they originally covered up started seeping through the paint. The organization was hoping to repaint the mural in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic waylaid those plans.
While the details of the newly minted Bridging the Divide project are still being ironed out, the plan is to offer up sections of the bridge to public entities, such as Park District of Forest Park and community organizations, such as the Kiwanis Club of Forest Park. While the sponsors would have a broad flexibility on what they can paint, nudity and “offensive language” won’t be allowed. The village agreed to serve as a project co-sponsor back in December, but it still needs to get an okay from the Illinois Department of Transportation, which controls the expressway and the bridge.
The painting is scheduled for May 18, with the rain date tentatively set for May 25.
The Circle Avenue bridge is one of only three roadway links between the north and south sides of Forest Park. It is the closest road to the Forest Park Ferrara Candy Company plant and the Roos Recreation Center. The Harlem/Eisenhower Blue Line ‘L’ station’s secondary entrance is on the east side of the bridge.
By 2017, a group of artists, elected officials and well-connected residents grew concerns about how rusty the bridge looked. While it was structurally sound, the fence was thoroughly rusted, and the cement walls below were covered with large rust stains. Some of the notable names included interim administrator Rachell Entler, who was then a commissioner, artist and current Forest Park Public Library trustee Lin Beribak and current Arts Alliance president Karen Rozmus.
With the village support, the group figured out the ins and outs of what became known as the Cover Our Rust project, breaking up the bridge into 110 sections, setting up the application process, figuring out how much every aspect of the project will cost, raising the funds and buying supplies.
During the planning process, the artists realized that Forest Park could use a more permanent volunteer organization to promote art throughout the village. While the members were already telling the Review about the newly formed Forest Park Arts alliance when the murals were being painted, it wasn’t until winter 2017 that cleared all the legal hurdles to become a nonprofit in the eyes of the state and federal law.
This time around, the Arts Alliance is planning to divide each side of the bridge into 40 sections, with “some longer than others.” The individuals and groups would be able to reserve more than one of those sections. The participants will pay registration fees and, as before, the Arts Alliance will be looking for sponsorships.
Forest Park Department of Public Works will power-wash and prime the bridge ahead of time, and the bridge will be closed to traffic all day as the public works on it.
In a letter to the village, Rozmus wrote that the Arts Alliance hopes that Bridging the Divide will “bring the community together in a fun and creative initiative while beautifying the bridge.”
Commissioner Maria Maxham, who sits on the Arts Alliance’s board of directors, said she and her family took part in the original Cover Our Rust project. She described it as “one of my favorite experiences in Forest Park” and said that she was “enthusiastically in support of this project.”
Commissioner Ryan Nero said that while he supported the new project, he wondered if it was possible to prime the bridge without using the village staff. Entler said that using public works employees wouldn’t significantly affect the budget.
“I know that [Public Works Director Sal] Stella has got a very, very, very, very reasonable price when it comes to the power-washing of the bridge,” she said.
Entler added that it would be cheaper this time around because they wouldn’t need to paint the fence.
“To make the day as easy and as enjoyable as possible, because priming process has to take place before the actual painting – I think the easiest process, unfortunately, is to use public works,” she said.
