February 04, 2025
Shaw Local
NewsSubscribePrep SportsObituariesFriday Night DriveeNewspaperLocal EventsShaw Local RadioStarved Rock Country

Mendota mural to be unveiled Saturday

City will celebrate Railroad Crossing and Heritage Day

By Shaw Local News Network
Mendota Union Depot Mural is installed on the south side of Triple Service, Inc., on located at 801 Monroe Street, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 in Mendota. The mural is constructed of hand-painted aluminum sheets, mounted on a steel support grid. Artist Ray Paseka and his team at Westclox Studios, Inc. have used archival information found at the Union Depot Railroad Museum to capture the details of the structure. The half-scale painting of the Mendota Union Depot will be an impressive 127 feet long and more than 50 feet high.

The Mendota Union Depot mural will be unveiled 10 a.m. Saturday, June 17, during the city’s Railroad Crossing and Heritage Day. (Scott Anderson)

The Mendota Union Depot mural will be unveiled 10 a.m. Saturday, June 17, during the city’s Railroad Crossing and Heritage Day.

The event will take place 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both sides of Eighth Street in downtown Mendota.

Lunch will be served 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with treats by BPW available in the Vintage Dining Car. Skits are planned noon and 2 p.m. at the mural. A 50/50 drawing is scheduled for 3 p.m.

There will be speeder car rides, free barrel street train rides, an Old West Registers cowboy train robbery demonstration, tours of vintage rail cars and tours of the museum. Special this year will be the 100th birthday of the CB&Q 4978 Steam Locomotive which will be freshly painted. Other special demonstrations this year will include vintage corn shelling and rope making.

Additionally, the farmers market will be set up 8 a.m. to noon on both sides of Eighth Street.

The mural is a half-scale painting of the iconic 250- by 100-foot Mendota Union Depot that was built in 1888 and demolished in 1942. It will be constructed of hand-painted aluminum sheets, mounted on a steel support grid.

Artist Ray Paseka and his team at Westclox Studios, Inc. used archival information from the Union Depot Railroad Museum to capture the details of the structure.