Installation of a Route 66 tile mural began this week at Seventh and Main streets in downtown Galena, Kan., and should be finished by the weekend, reported the Joplin (Mo.) Globe.
From the newspaper:
The mural, designed by Chris Auckerman and Jon White of Images in Tile, is composed of 416 15-inch tiles. A concrete block wall was built for the mural’s installation, and a mural park is being constructed around it where travelers and Route 66 enthusiasts can spend a few minutes taking photographs. It is being installed by RC Tile and Hardwoods of Joplin, Mo. […]
The mural, which is expected to be finished Friday, depicts a 1957 Chevrolet pulling onto Main Street between the bordello and Cars on the Route. It leaves skid marks on the pavement that spell out “Michael Wallis,” the voice of the sheriff of Radiator Springs in the “Cars” movie and the author of “Route 66: The Mother Road.”
A local businessman, Brian Jordan, is funding the mural. He owns Jordan Disposal and other enterprises.
As the Globe article notes, Galena is seeing a big upswing in economic activity along its Route 66 corridor, including renovations to Cars on the Route (formerly 4 Women on the Route) and a former bordello that’s open for ghost tours.
Images in Tile also is constructing a big Route 66 tile mural in downtown Joplin, which will be completed in time for the International Route 66 Festival in early August.