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Votes for Downtown Mural Are Adding Up

More than 3,000 have selected favorite design

CARNEY’S DESIGN

As of Friday, 3,000 votes had been cast for which mural will be placed at Kossuth Park on Main Street in downtown Wheeling, according to Alex Weld, project and outreach manager for Wheeling Heritage.

The winning mural will serve as a greeting to visitors entering Wheeling by traveling south on Main Street. The mural project is a partnership between Wheeling Heritage and the city. The public has until Jan. 31 to cast votes by going online to wheelingheritage.org/art.

The winner will be announced Feb. 1 and will receive a $4,500 commission to do the work.

Weld said the contest is being well received by the voting public, including students. She noted that students in a history class at Wheeling Park High School cast their votes this week. The mural, which will measure 20 feet wide and 10 feet tall, is planned for an April completion.

Weld said she has not looked at who is leading the vote tally and won’t reveal numbers until voting is closed.

The four artists from which to choose are:

Mimi Albon

Albon’s design depicts the city of Wheeling in a whimsical matter. “On the left side is the more industrial side of Wheeling, with cars, big buildings, etc. On the right is the residential area showing the natural side of Wheeling with trees and animals. Dividing the two is the Ohio river with the Fort Henry Bridge connecting the two sides,” she noted.

Amanda Carney

Carney said deer are symbolic of Wheeling, a place where nature and city often, sometimes literally, collide. “I like to illustrate deer as symbolic, almost otherworldly, and often with strange decoration. This particular design features the grand antlers of a buck holding up one of Wheeling’s most recognizable symbols, the Suspension Bridge,” she said.

Sherrie Mestrovic

This “Welcome to Wheeling” canvas highlights eight iconic Wheeling landmarks in the vintage post card lettering style. “Our Historic National Landmark, the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, is shown at the foreground of the painting with a barge passing underneath and rolling hills in the periphery. The eight iconic landmarks are the Capitol Theatre, Centre Market, Mingo Indian, Mail Pouch Tobacco, Madonna of the Trail, National Road Mile Marker, Oglebay Mansion, and West Virginia Independence Hall,” she said.

Samuel Starkey

Starkey said his design is meant to immortalize the horse of Samuel McColloch, “a creature so brave and fearless that it leaped 300 feet to save the life of his companion fearlessly.”

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