More murals will indeed be coming to downtown Waukesha – just not all of them right away.
The Plan Commission unanimously approved 13 of the 14 murals that were presented Wednesday night.
The only mural the Commission had reservations with was the one representing Carroll University. The Commission said it lacked the university’s rich history and didn’t show diversity as well.
Members also wished the Carroll sign could have been more prominent. But because they are sponsoring the mural it could only be four inches in height. Other murals also have sponsorship logos, including ProHealth Care and We Energies, among others.
The Carroll mural design was done by a design team at Carroll and will be painted by an artist in Williams Bay. The design will come back before the Commission at a later date.
The other murals, however, will be painted next weekend in conjunction with the art crawl Aug. 3.
The Walldogs artists, a nationally-acclaimed group of mural painters who painted the GuitarTown murals in June, will paint a majority of these new murals.
The Walldogs will begin work Aug. 1, sketching outlines of the murals. The mural painting will begin Aug. 2 and continue through Aug. 4.
During the GuitarTown festivities, five murals were painted on downtown buildings that honored music legend Les Paul, who was born and is buried in Waukesha.
The new murals blend some of the GuitarTown theme, but mainly show off the city's past. Most of the new murals will be painted on panels that will be attached to the buildings due to their old surfaces.
The locations include The Greenwaldt Building, 734 Clinton St.; Couri Insurance, 739 W. Main St.; Mainstream Bar & Grill, 404 W. Main St.; Waukesha State Bank, 100 Bank St.; The Salty Toad, 921 Friedman Drive; Main Street Plaza, 234 W. Main St. (two murals); Panos Grocery Store, 200 W. Main St.; Discount Liquor, 919 Barstow St.; Olsen Ace Hardware, 155 Main St.; building at 135 Broadway; building at 147 Broadway; building at 129 Broadway and the Gallery 1 building at 507 Broadway.
Kerry Mackay, owner of The Steaming Cup in downtown and the spokesman for the mural project, said the murals are serving as a gateway to the city as many say “Welcome to Waukesha.”
Culver’s move: The Plan Commission also unanimously approved preliminary plans for a 4,035 square-foot Culver’s restaurant to move into one of the lots at the Woodman’s location, 1650 E. Main St., north of E. Main St. and west of Highway 164.
Culver’s owners plan on selling its old nearby location at 1720 Highway 164 to a more visible location and for better access for its customers.
This is the first business to fill a lot on the Woodman’s property.