(La Porte, IN) - It’s not just another brick wall, but one described now as uplifting and having character.  A mural on the side of the historic La Porte County Public Library Exchange building was the focus of a celebration Friday in the outdoor Wi-Fi garden at the main library branch across the street from it.

 

“How can you not drive by or walk by and just smile,” said La Porte City Councilwoman Julie West.

 

“The beauty of this you can see blocks away,” said former mayor Mark Krentz, who used to be for a long time in the business of buying and selling art.

 

Krentz said he was impressed with the mural’s bright colors and the seemingly 3-D dimensions that make it appear as if “you can just walk into it.”

 

The library, working with the Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City and Health Foundation of La Porte, ordered the futuristic looking mural as a way of reflecting the modern things now happening inside the building once firmly anchored in the past.

 

For decades, the over century old building, often referred to as the “The Telephone Company”, housed switchboard operators.  The operators manually connected people with each other on telephone calls until dial up phones forced the company out of business.

 

The building was purchased and renovated by the library, which opened it in 2020.  There’s now modern technology inside like 3-D printers, laser cutters along with studios for recording podcasts and videos for use by the public.

 

La Porte County Public Library Board President Dara Jeffries said she thinks of the mural as a source of happiness and something to go see when her spirit needs a lift when the sun doesn’t shine for long periods or becomes dreary like in February.

 

“Free therapy,” she said.

 

The mural, located in a highly traveled area on Indiana Avenue just south of Lincolnway, is also favorable to people wanting visitors to leave with an even better impression of the city from seeing it.

 

“We’re bringing beauty, color, joy and happiness to our downtown,” said Mayor Tom Dermody.

The mural was created by Alex Allen, a professional from South Bend.  The 30 year old Allen seemed overjoyed by the positive reaction to her artwork, created using strictly cans of spray paint and frog tape to create the straight lines contained in her abstract image.

 

Allen, who has made about 180 murals in her career, called the celebration “a huge honor.” 

 

“It makes me feel happy and very welcomed here,” she said.

 

The public response to her work included a job to create another mural downtown at Mucho Mas, a California-style Mexican restaurant in the 600 block of Lincolnway.  Allen said she began working last week on the tropical themed mural containing lots of bright colors and images of plants, flowers and butterflies to reflect the type of food prepared there for customers.  She expects to be finished by the end of next week on what will be the third mural in La Porte.

 

In 2019, the first mural depicting life in La Porte and images of impactful residents since the city’s early beginnings went up beside Plaza 618, an outdoor gathering place also in the downtown.

 

Mayor Tom Dermody said other murals are planned as a way of adding more character to downtown and quality of life in the city.

 

“It’s just very cool for people to enjoy, to see when they’re walking with their families,” he said.

 

West said she also hopes La Porte becomes a stop for people who travel to see murals.

 

“I’m thrilled that we’re moving forward with more murals because I think it just beautifies our city even more,” she said.