Muralification

Can't afford a high line in your neighborhood? How about settling for a mile-and-a-half of trackside mural instead? That's what Ald. Danny Solis has up his sleeve for the 16th street railroad embankment running through Pilsen. But, according to Solis, it won't be overly controlled or coordinated: "I'd like all that wall to be a canvas for artists both in and outside of the community. For people who also do what we've called graffiti in the past, I want to make it a venue for them to use." The project has been underway since early summer, but the scattered murals haven't yet fused into a single blanket. There are other examples of coordinated railroad embankment attacks around town, in Oak Park, Rogers Park, and a stretch along Hubbard in River West, but none are as uniform as this hopes to be. Some big names in street art have been recruited, like Belgium's ROA who painted a dead possum at 16th and Laflin. Others contributors are just ambitious local kids. By the end of the month there will be about 20 completed murals, but there's still a lot of wall to snag. [Chicago Journal, photo: flickr user floozefactor]