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  • Home
  • People's Choice: Vote Here for Your Favorite Artwork
  • Workshops & Classes at NCIARTworks
  • May 2025 at NCI ARTWORKS
  • June 2025 at NCI ARTworks
  • 2025 Sicily Trip
  • 2026 Exhibition Application
  • Heritage Corridor Art Explorations
  • Videos
  • Mendota Mural
  • Princeton Walkway
  • Seneca Mural
  • Fr. Joseph Heyd O.S.B. Retrospective of his life & art
  • Book & Video "From Harm to Hope"
  • The Illinois Valley Creative Community
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
    • Join Our Patrons Circle/Donate
    • Sponsor an Exhibit
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
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      • Sign up to Volunteer
      • Report Hours
  NCIARTWorks

Mendota, Illinois

Silo Pathway Legacy Project

The Silo Pathways Countryside Public Art Tour is the Legacy Project of NCI ARTworks. The organization is committed to facilitating the development of public art and the establishment of a tourism attraction drawing visitors to the towns and villages of La Salle, Bureau and Putnam counties of Illinois.

The mural is up and it's beautiful! NOW WE HAVE TO Pave THE PROMENADE IN FRONT OF THE MURAL!

Click on the image below to be directed to the Bricks R Us shopping cart and be part of Mendota history!
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The magnificent Mendota Union Depot mural is up and it is beautiful! Now it’s time to create the promenade where residents and tourists can gather to relax and enjoy the view. 

Join us to Pave the Promenade by buying commemorative engraved bricks and benches to line the perimeter of the promenade. Here are some ways that you can help make that happen.
Buy an engraved 4 x 8-inch brick for $100 (max 18 characters per line/3 lines max suggested)

  • Buy a bench with a dedicated plaque for $1,600 (only 4 available)
  • Donations in any amount will be used for the maintenance and upkeep of the magnificent Mendota Union Depot mural and promenade
The Mendota Union Depot mural is a testament to the civic pride of past and present Mendota residents. It is a beautiful, historically accurate depiction of Mendota’s rich history as a railroad hub in America’s heartland, and many of you have had a hand in making it become a reality.
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We are counting on your continued support to Pave the Promenade. Remember that your gift is tax-deductible. 
 
Sincerely,
Mendota Raise the Depot Committee, 
Michelle Wade, DeAnna Carlson, Christine Coughlin, Kurt Bruno, Karyn Bock, Shelby Weide, Aaron Elston, Rusty Stachlewitz​, Frank Kobilsek, Julia Messina    

Donate Now to Pave the Promenade

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​Michelle Wade of Triple Service Inc., leads the project and has partnered with the nonprofit regional arts agency North Central Illinois ARTworks (NCI ARTworks) to facilitate the creation of this important mural celebrating Mendota’s rich history as a railroad hub. In addition, Wade formed an eight-member volunteer Citizens Committee to raise awareness, gather information about railroading, fund raise, and seek grant funding.

“When people ask why we are doing this project, the answer is very simple,” said Wade. “It’s because I–and the many current and former Mendota residents who support the mural project with their donations–love our community and appreciate the station’s historic significance and stunning turn-of-the-century architecture. It is a gift to the community and beyond.” She added that she expects this impressive, historically accurate mural to bring rural tourism and the consequent economic benefits of rural tourism to restaurants, shops and other businesses in Mendota.

Located in the center of a business district that is actively being re-developed by the City of Mendota, the Mendota Area Chamber of Commerce, and an active group of dedicated citizens, the Mendota Union Depot mural is meant to become an iconic work of art and a stimulator of economic development by inspiring new businesses to open nearby as well as attract the attention of proud residents, railroad enthusiasts, and new visitors to Mendota. 

NCI ARTworks is a regional arts agency, a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and expanding the arts community in LaSalle, Bureau, and Putnam Counties through artistic collaboration, educational outreach, and art space development. Its mission also is to create venues which support public and private education, community events, economic development, and cultural tourism. ARTworks’ vision is to foster communication between artists, arts organizations, and arts educators. NCI ARTworks is located in the Westclox ARTworks Center in the west wing of the Westclox building in Peru. The organization is supported, in part, by the Illinois Arts Council Agency. For more information visit www.nciartworks.com.North Central Illinois ARTworks, the City of Mendota, granting agencies, and generous donors are working together to realize the "Raise the Depot" mural project in Mendota, Illinois.

“Mendota Union Depot,” the mural, has been installed on the south side of Triple Service, Inc., located at 801 Monroe Street, Mendota, and features a 10-foot-wide, fenced walkway. The mural is constructed of hand-painted aluminum sheets, mounted on a steel support grid. Artist Ray Paseka and his team at Westclox Studios, Inc. have used archival information found at the Union Depot Railroad Museum to capture the details of the structure. The half-scale painting of the Mendota Union Depot is an impressive 127 feet long and more than 50 feet high. Sitting slightly in front of the building will be a painting of a period locomotive. When night falls, translucent window panes will create the illusion of lighting from within. Thanks to generous donors and grants, this mural will grace the Mendota business district for decades to come.
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Supporters at the $100+ level will receive a custom window cling to identify you or your company as taking  part in “Raising the Depot.” 
Supporters at the $2,500+ level will receive a beautiful “Raising the Depot” commemorative plaque to display at  their home or company. 
Supporters at the $7,500+ level will be named on the permanent, interactive placard at the site of the mural. This is  the sign promoted in the Silo Pathways Countryside Public Art Tour. 
Memorial/Honorable Donations of $10,000 or more will entitle donor(s) to include the name of an individual or company to be honored in the plaza area in front of the mural. Only a few such opportunities are available. Call Michelle Wade at Triple Service, Inc. (815.343.3615), or email [email protected] to schedule a meeting with our coordinators to discuss this option. 

All donations are payable to “NCI ARTworks.”  Our regional arts agency is a 501(c)(3), non-profit  organization funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council. Gifts are maintained in a restricted fund for Silo Pathways Countryside Public Art Tour, and a small portion of each donation will be used to maintain this work of art as part of the regional art tourism pathway. Donate online at North Central Illinois ARTworks: www.nciartworks.com, PO Box 1251, LaSalle, IL 61301 email:[email protected] or phone 815.228.1253 

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Funding for the Mendota Union Depot Mural was provided in part by the Illinois Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, BNSF Railway, The Illini Valley Association of Relators, and the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation.
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NCI ARTworks
P.O. Box 1251
LaSalle, IL 61301
[email protected]
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