Riding the Past into the Future is a mural depicting a train coming to
life. St Johns was founded as a major hub for the railroad system in
the late 1800’s. The concept behind the design of the mural is capture
the rich railroad history of St Johns and couple it to the Arts and
Culture movement of today. The mural is painted as framed artwork, with
the train actively being painted by a giant paint brush. Viewers can
stop to “hold” the paint brush posing as an artist creating the
painting. The train is coming out of the frame making its way into the
future. A 3-d hole in the sidewalk gives the mural another interactive
feature. People can pose as if trying to stop the train from hitting
the hole. This mural was designed and painted downtown St Johns by local
artist Tracie Davis. The project was made possible by a mini grant
through the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, St Johns Community Fund and the Downtown Development Authority.
