GILROY
– The next stages of a new downtown mural are coming along after
gaining approval from the City Council this month.
GILROY – The next stages of a new downtown mural are coming along after gaining approval from the City Council this month.
Artist Nancy Grieves designed two more panels for the new mural, which is located on a city-owned wall at a parking lot next to the Banning Upholstery building at Seventh and Monterey streets, roughly a block south of Old City Hall.
The first stage of the mural that’s already complete features an American flag of colorful flowers, framed by rolling hills symbolizing South County’s landscape.
The next two panels will be applied on either side of the flag scene to round out the theme “Past, Present and Future.” One will represent “past” and feature a rendering of the landmark Old City Hall’s ornate 1905 Baroque and Mission-Revival architecture.
Artist Nancy Grieves, who designed the panels, said she chose the building because it’s very unique and very well-known to Gilroy.
The other panel, representing the future, features two smiling young girls standing on a playground.
“I just felt that it was a wonderfully strong image,” she said. “The children are our future.”
Mayor Tom Springer agreed.
“I can’t think of a more fitting image of the future of our society than our children,” he said. “You capture the essence of Gilroy beautifully.”
City Council approved the design concept for the first stage of the mural in June, along with funding assistance for the project requested by the city’s Public Art Committee. Other funding was garnered through donations from private citizens, corporations, local merchants and non-profit groups.
