Joliet Area Historical Museum Announces Completion of Route 66 Mural

During the week of July 5, the Joliet Area Historical Museum became a working art gallery as the Museum, in collaboration with Friends of Community Public Art, sponsored a mural workshop for children ages 5 1/2-9 years old.

During the course of the workshop, the children learned how professional artists paint murals from the initial design to the actual strokes on the canvas. The final masterpiece, is an homage to Route 66.

Entitled, “Get Your Kicks on Route 66!,” the mural is currently on display in the Museum’s Route 66 Welcome Center. Beginning August 28 and running through September 19, the mural will be displayed in the Museum’s Special Exhibit Gallery as part of the exhibit, “Get Your Kicks on Route 66: The Mother Road From a Child’s View.”

The mural pays homage to all aspects of “The Mother Road.” The background pays tribute to the cover of Michael Wallis’s famous Route 66 classic book,
Route 66: The Mother Road.

The foreground consists of several layers of Route 66 icons: Highway signs painted in bright colors, neon signs of current and former establishments, and finally relics of the road, past and present.

Notable sites immortalized in the mural include: Lake Michigan, the Jack Rabbit Trading Post, the Palomino Hotel, the Yukon Motel, the Gemini Giant, the Blue Swallow Motel, the Big Blue Whale, the Rocket Drive-In, the Wig Wam Motel, and The Big Texan Steak Ranch.

The mural was designed and painted under the direction of Project Leader, Friends of Community Public Art artist, Kreshaun McKinney. Project Advisors included Joliet Area Historical Museum Educator, Kim Shehorn-Martin and Museum Volunteers, Gloria Mattei-Watson, Mary Lanham, Carol Carlson, Aimee Eichelberger, Carolyn Healy, and Patrick Healy.

Student muralists included Kayla Gustafson, Madeleine Zinanni, Julia Shemaitis, and Daniel Shemaitis of Joliet, IL; Molly Martin of Frankfort, IL; and Allison and Emily Fenter of Mason, Ohio.

For additional information on children’s programming at the Joliet Area Historical Museum, contact Kim Shehorn-Martin at 815-723-5201, ext. 235