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New Murals To Brighten Up Railroad Underpasses In Old Town

Carla Eckels
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KMUW
Painters Ashley Donner and Lauren Doshier (top) from Danielle Studios add finishing touches to the mural called "The Night Sky."

The 1st Street and 2nd Street improvement projects in Wichita’s Old Town are well underway, with another new mural near completion.

The city-funded project includes four murals on the walls of the railroad underpasses.

Credit Carla Eckels / KMUW
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KMUW
Artist Todd Whipple examines a panel in his mural, "The Night Sky."

Artist Todd Whipple is part of the design team that's working with Law Kingdon, an architecture firm, and TranSystems, an engineering firm that he says is responsible for the project.

Whipple says it took about five weeks to create the mural north of 2nd Street, which is being painted with various shades of blue. He calls the mural "The Night Sky," a representation of the natural environment.

"When it's finished, there will be stars in certain areas of the mural, and in the center panel there will be the moon," Whipple says.

All five panels have a female figure etched on them.

"Going clear back to the ancient times, people have associated the stars and the planet with people or deities, so it’s kind of a take-off on that," he says.

Whipple says once this project is finished, the work will continue on 1st Street.

Carla Eckels is director of cultural diversity and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels. To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

Carla Eckels is Director of Organizational Culture at KMUW. She produces and hosts the R&B and gospel show Soulsations and brings stories of race and culture to The Range with the monthly segment In the Mix. Carla was inducted into The Kansas African American Museum's Trailblazers Hall of Fame in 2020 for her work in broadcast/journalism.