From staff reports
The newest downtown mural to coordinated by the Oil City Main Street Program will be unveiled Saturday on Oil City’s South Side.
A dedication ceremony is planned for 9:30 a.m. at the rear wall of a multi-tenant building at 2 East First St.
“We’re very excited about this mural,” Main Street manager Kathy Bailey said. “It is a favorite among several members of our mural review panel in terms of its vivid colors and representation of the history of our area.”
The 23-feet-high by 12-feet-wide mural, which has been created at the artist’s studio on panels and will be attached to the back of the building, will be visible from Front Street and lower portions of Central Avenue near the library.
The dedication ceremony will include light refreshments and remarks from the artist, community leaders and project partners.
Following the mural dedication, another ceremony at 11 a.m. will be held inside the Days Inn to dedicate a new historical marker for Chief Cornplanter.
A noon outdoor performance by the Allegany River Dancers from the Seneca Nation will be held in Justus Park.
The Chief Cornplanter mural is the fourth project of the Oil City Outdoor Murals Program, an initiative by the Oil City Main Street Program with help from the Oil Region Alliance.
Funding for the Cornplanter mural was provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources .
Bailey reported that a fifth mural is expected to be finalized soon.
“With the help of multiple partners, included the Oil Region Alliance and Penn Soil RC&D Council, we have obtained additional funding to create several more new murals, as well as tough up some of our older murals,” Bailey said. “Murals are a way of brightening up our downtown, connecting to our area’s history and reinforcing Oil City’s arts and culture scene. It’s been very exciting to see this initiative continue.”
More information is available by contacting the Main Street office at (814) 677-3152, ext. 101, or emailing at kbailey@oilregion.org.
