New welcoming mural coming to old Lipton Tea lot in Streator

A new mural will be getting set up soon in downtown Streator at the former Lipton Tea building lot on the corner of Wasson and Main streets, right across from the fire station.

The Streator Park Board, along with Mayor Tara Bedei, discussed the plan for the mural during their most recent meeting on Wednesday night.

The mural will be a 12 by 24 feet long, freestanding portrait made from aluminum panels that says “greetings from Streator” with two people riding on a canoe on the Vermillion River.

“It’s supposed to look like an old postcard,” Bedei said during the meeting.

Notably, this is a project of Streatscapes - affiliated with the Streator Walldogs group. The commissioning of the mural will not be funded through the city.

“The Walldogs” group is an internationally renowned organization of sign and mural artists. The group has put up a variety of murals around town.

According to Bedei, the group plans additional landscaping on the lot, as well as putting a canoe in front of the mural for an interactive set up.

The mural is anticipated to be painted by Saturday, Sept. 13 during the Streator food truck festival and Pluto fest.

For more information, visit Walldogs website or their Facebook page.