Mural designed by local students coming to downtown Elyria

Downtown Elyria will gain a bit more color this summer, thanks to a planned mural from local students in the Lorain County Urban League's Project Ready program. The 53 students in the program, who are at Elyria or Avon Schools or in early college, are working together to design and paint a new mural on the side of 354 Broad St. in downtown Elyria. Plans for the design were approved by Planning Commission on July 2. "This mural would bring new, youthful energy to the downtown (area)," Project Ready member Dekarion Wimberley told Planning Commission. "We feel over this whole entire project that this mural would bring our eyes into the world and as people drive past and see it, they will be able to see that there are youth in Elyria who want to see themselves in our city." The members of Project Ready have been working with the Elyria Community Partnership for several months to plan and design the mural. Currently, that wall is painted with the "Before I Die …" mural, which will be painted over in white before the new mural is installed, Elyria Community Partnership Executive Director Monet Roberts said. The new mural will be on the front end of the building right along the sidewalk on Broad Street and will say "A Place to be Yourself." A colorful design will show sights from Elyria including cyclists, people playing basketball and the iconic West Falls of the Black River. Underneath, the mural will feature the words "College-Career-Social-#4Plus4." "I think it's a great idea, I love the idea of young people being a part of the city because you are a part of the city," Planning Commission member Sam Battle said. Battle asked if the word used in the design could be "secondary education" instead of "College" to include those in trade schools or other programs. Roberts said the students could consider it if it was an issue, but the words were chosen because they serve as something of a motto for the kids in Project Ready. "This project was really designed to come from their heart, without having any kind of advertisements or anything like that," she said. Project Ready is an after-school and summer program that works with students to prepare them for life after high school, either in college or the workforce. Five Project Ready members appeared before the commission on July 2 and Wimberley, a rising junior at Elyria High School, spoke on the group's behalf. "Many of us don't feel that there is a place for us in downtown Elyria at all, so this mural would bring color, life and youthful energy to have young people feel seen and heard in their own city," he said. Roberts said that the team will now wait for the wall to be prepared and then the mural could begin. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.