Auburn, IL (Route 66)
A mural on a silo in the middle of nowhere on a historic Route 66 brick road? Yes, please! We jumped at the opportunity to create this unique artwork as part of a Route 66 mural grant we received for the Springfield, IL area. The centennial of the Mother Road is coming up in 2026 and we are happy to be a small part of the celebration with all our murals along the way from Chicago to Santa Monica.
Most people associate the Greetings Tour with our large letter postcard mural style. We only paint one of these per city to create a destination but often have requests to do more work locally. As a result, we started to experiment with more styles in the same vein of vintage travel & Americana. One of these styles is heavily inspired by mid-century era Lindgren-Turner company stickers that feature states, cities, parks, tourist spots, and attractions like other souvenir decals popular at the time. These were often placed on suitcases and cars (bumpers, windows, etc.) after visiting to the featured location. This was a time before photography became easily accessible to the masses. We painted this style in Pasadena/Altadena and Seaport Village (San Diego) mixing in some photorealistic qualities.
The location of our Route 66 themed canvas was in Auburn, IL along a historic brick road. Instead of a wall, we painted on a riveted silo which was a difficult surface to get fine details on. Since the original decals were limited to 8 colors and more graphic, we decided to stay true to that style for this project. After all, they say the evolution of an artist is to always say more with less right? This was the perfect surface to use spray paint on, so thank you to Montana Cans for their support as usual.
The property owner David Moose helped us prep by pressure washing the silo and sourcing a boom lift for us to use. Special thanks to David Wang for being on the road almost a full month to help us complete multiple projects spanning from Bermuda to Ohio to Illinois! We could not be more humbled to have such a dedicated team. There was some strong winds and rain that delayed our start date but the Spring sun finally came out and we were able to complete the artwork in time. Last but not least, we also collaborated with local photographer Jordan Minder who helped document the mural process.
Within minutes of the mural completion, we already had some recent local graduates doing a photoshoot in front of the artwork. They just happened to be getting photos on the historic brick road. “Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this beautiful 1.4 mile long piece of restored hand-laid brick road is a segment of 66 done in 1931 and placed over a concrete roadbed.” (Enjoy Illinois) We are honored to be able to add some signage paying tribute to the original brick pavers. If you’re in the area, stop by for a photo op!
Year: 2024
Mural Size: 12’H x 9’W
Location: Snell at S. Curran Rd. Auburn, IL 62615