A new mural now adorns the downtown Peoria skyline.
The piece on the Niagara Parking Deck on Adams Street features pictures of six Peoria residents spelling out each letter in the city name.
Mayor Rita Ali says murals beautify the downtown area.
“It's going to really grab the attention of local residents, visitors, workers, especially in the downtown area, or coming through the downtown area,” she said. “I think that people will come downtown just to see this beautiful, new piece.”
The mural project was proposed by Big Picture Peoria. The organization has added various murals across the downtown area, including Abraham Blue on the Peoria County Courthouse.
This mural was created to represent Peoria’s residents.
“It's a reflection of us, the residents who make this city such a special place to live today, we stand before a powerful representation of who we are as a city, vibrant, diverse and unified,” Ali said.
The mural was created by artist Alex Carmona, who moved to Peoria from Colorado five years ago.
“Since then, we've actually gotten three friends, three couples, to move here from Colorado, a place that is and it didn't take a lot of work,” he said. “I mean, people come visit us, and they see right away how special this city is. As far as the mural goes, I really want to thank the city of Peoria.”
The mural began as a wood carving, which Cardona then used as a stamp to create the original prints. It was then enlarged and turned into the piece that now sits on the side of the city-owned parking deck.
Cardona used the unveiling to announce his intention to run for district two councilman. The seat is currently held by Chuck Grayeb, who announced in July he is running for mayor.
