By this point we all know that I love Granite City, Illinois. I mean, I love it so much I don’t even call it Granite City, I call it Cutesville because of how cute I firmly believe it is here. We have so much to offer and explore that often gets taken for granted. One such area that I feel is doing an outstanding job of renovating itself is downtown, an area now known as, The District.
The District has seen an influx of new business lately and for good reason, this area is being transformed into an artistic mecca. We’re down here a lot honestly, whether we’re eating at one of our favorite establishments (Jerry’s Cafeteria or the Garden Gate Tea Room to name a couple) or watching a movie at the best cinema around, we’re in The District often. I’d been noticing more and more art pop up around here and thought it was time to compile a singular piece that showcases it all.
My friend, Erin, and I had the best time seeing all this awesome art up close and personal and interacting with it all the best we could! Every piece added value to our great city and made me even more excited for all that lies on the horizon. So, take a look at all the art we have to offer as shown below then get down to The District and see these beauties for yourself all while dining, gaming, or entertaining yourself at one of our spectacular local businesses!
The Memorial Park War Memorial.
I was so happy to see the fountain going at Memorial Park. They’ve done such an incredible job at refurbishing it! I especially love seeing it at night when it’s illuminated with various colors.
The city has done such an extraordinary job with Civic Park. I love the flowers and the flags and the the eagle statue at the center of it all. Fascinating that it’s missing its beak. Love seeing the concerts they put on here as well.
I hadn’t noticed these power boxes till a couple of days ago and I just love them! What an artistic use of a traditionally forgettable space!
This piece is titled, “Devoted” by artist, Cassie Sells of Hays, Kansas.
Orange is my favorite color and the Granite City Cinema is my favorite movie theater, so this picture is a double win for me.
This piece is titled, “Synaptic Wreath” by artist, Kristen Tordella-Williams of Opelika, Alabama. Of course we utilized the art to amplify our picture!
This piece is titled, “Renewal” by artist, Snail Scott of Edwardsville, Illinois.
The gaming tagged window of Leve1UP Arcade diversifies the various art found in The District. Love to see it.
The next handful of photos are from the Ruben Mendoza Memorial that sits on the corner of Niedringhaus and Cleveland, right next to the Cinema. Ruben Mendoza is known as the Father of Granite City Soccer and was a true soccer legend. He played in several St. Louis leagues as well as for the US Olympic Soccer Team in 1952 and 1956. Additionally, he played on the US World Cup Team in 1954 and 1958. A knee injury in 1960 forced him to retire as a player, but he returned to Granite City and organized youth teams that resulted in eleven future state championships for Granite City High School. After reading up on him it was quite easy to understand why he had the memorial he did.
All along Niedringhaus there are these banners highlighting individuals who served in the armed forces. I loved seeing them and reading which war/conflict the person showcased served in. This one was appropriately placed just in front of the memorial celebrating him.
Ruben shown here doing his famous, “Mendoza Kick,” which has since gone on to be known as the “bicycle kick.”
This small memorial is adorable and makes an amazing addition to The District.
This is my personal favorite work of art so far in The District. I love the interactiveness of the Route 66 logo and how you can still see the awesome mural just beyond it. Definitely the highlight for me.
I love Granite City and am so proud to be from here.
It’s an absolute blessing Route 66 travels through our town. I somehow had never noticed before, but there are three of these stenciled logos on the parking lot of the mural and large sign.
The next several photos highlight the new murals that have been painted on the side of the buildings at the corner of 19th and Delmar. The shots of the murals were taken before the placement of the phenomenal neon sign park that you’ll see a few photos after. The city continues to do a phenomenal job revamping the downtown area and preparing us for the one hundredth anniversary of Route 66 in 2026!
We were fortunate enough to run into Brenda Whitaker on this afternoon who explained the murals to us. They highlight all the officially recognized stops on Route 66 beginning in Mitchell, then heading into Pontoon Beach, before ending up in Granite City, then Madison, and lastly St. Louis. The artwork was second to none and the color schemes made certain these two murals can’t be missed!
I love this so much.
Never been to the Luna Cafe before, but we’ve vowed to get there someday soon! Who knows, perhaps there’s a blog to follow?
The artwork is just amazing to me.
Love to see that O’Brien’s is officially recognized by Route 66. I’ve had several wonderful experiences there and that giant tire out front is always worthy of a showcase.
Great look at the mural, pre-neon signs.
But first, let’s take a selfie.
I love absolutely everything about this! There’s two parking spots with an electric vehicle charging station between them. I parked at the lot diagonally across the street to ensure my vehicle wasn’t in my shots, but nonetheless, the parking spots here are super nice and convenient. Really and truly, they did a top notch job with this entire project.
This mini Chain of Rocks Bridge was created with the intent of people putting their love locks on it, just like that famous bridge in Paris that had to have them removed due to their crushing weight, but I don’t suspect that’ll happen to this one! I cannot wait to get a special lock of my own and add it on!
Hudson Jewelers, once located at 1901 State Street. The sign pictured at the bottom center of the photo provided a wealth of information about the former store and each neon sign has an informational sign of its own.
The Washington Theatre, formerly located at 1330 19th Street. I was shocked to read that this theatre once had 1,780 seats! That’s far larger than I would’ve ever imagined! I bet this was quite the place back in the day!
Reese Drug Store, 1322 Niedringhaus Avenue. I was impressed to learn this was actually a local chain that had locations in all the Tri-Cities and elsewhere!
The Sinclair Dinosaur was an especially nice touch I felt like.
Each of these signs looks even better in the night!
The “It’s Electric” Neon Sign Park is illuminated every night from dusk until dawn.
It’s a real blessing all of these were kept intact.
We are truly blessed to have such an incredible little spot right in here The District! They truly did an outstanding job on this! I’ll be showing it to anyone and everyone who visits me from here on out!
I want to show a little love for the Madison County Transit Bus Station because if you’ve ever been to Walt Disney World, then you’ll notice it looks a whole lot like the resort bus stations at any of the four parks down there! For a pair of Disney fans like ourselves, we loved this.
St. Louis Sign And Mural is the artist’s company responsible for all these incredible murals popping up in The District! We got to talk with the artist’s as they were working on this piece on the side of Jim’s Pawn Shop and they were a pair of terrific and talented individuals.
This piece is titled, “Hometown Hive” by artist, Bryce Olen Robinson of Ferguson, Missouri.
This piece is titled, “Wish I Might” by artist, Daniel W. Hurt of Wamego, Kansas.
This piece is titled, “T01-700 d (the New World)” by artist, Daniel Shieh of Brooklyn, New York.
It was sweltering up inside this thing, but you best believe I walked all the way up in there. What an interesting piece of art this was. Too bad it was littered with broken glass.
We really enjoyed all the different works in this area. Loved seeing this corner lot being used for the arts versus sitting there empty.
This piece is titled, “With What You Have” by artist, Stacey Rathert of Oxford, Mississippi. This one reminded us of “The Wizard of Oz.”
This piece is titled, “Steel Town” by artist, Tobias Flores.
Loved “The District” logo on this power box!
The next handful of photos are from the urban garden that sits just behind the Madison County Transit Station at the corner of 19th and State. This Pilot Plot as they call it provides native plant biodiversity that gives food for insects, birds, and more through seeds, root nutrients, flowers, and even leaves. I’ve never taken the time to walk through here, but was glad I did, there were several informational markers that truly educated me on this process and I thought it was another wonderful addition to our blossoming downtown.
It was quite well maintained and easy to walk around.
The flag was part of a work of art entitled, “Three Flags.” Seen here is the Tourist/Refugee flag that speaks to our actions abroad as they relate to the economies of tourism.
Where’s Erin?
This used to have a large swing and/or a series of swings. I can’t remember, but I definitely remember there being swings of some kind here.
The American Legion has really made their building look spectacular! I hadn’t been down by it in ages, but the outside looked fresh and inviting! As I drove past, we saw these murals on the wall, so you can bet I looped around to photograph them!
I loved this power box most, especially with the old Granite City Steel Building behind it.
This American train mural has been here for as long as I can remember! I was obsessed with trains as a kid, so I have always shared a great fondness for this work.
I love the comic book window display at The Downtown Diner! We’re truly blessed to have such a wide array of art offerings in our dynamic downtown!
What she said, those places are both simply the best!
Couldn’t pass up a chance to take a picture with the Superman cape! I love the Man of Steel!
I love the interactiveness of the art on display! There’s always fun to be had, you just have to be willing to have it.
Of course I can’t highlight the Art of The District without highlighting the premier art house of The District, Alfresco Performing Arts Center. Not too long ago, I saw their production of “High School Musical” and very much enjoyed my experience. Can’t wait to see what they put on next!
As always, THANK YOU so much for viewing! I appreciate you greatly! Feel free to leave a comment below as I love reading and responding to them! Also, feel free to share and subscribe! I’m hoping to achieve a thousand subscribers by the end of the year, so please help make it happen! I’ll return next week with another all-new post, so until then, I wish you all, all the best!
Working hard everyday towards achieving my goal of becoming an international best-selling author. Wrote the book, just need the agent and publisher. Received the ultimate endorsement when Britney Spears wrote me saying she'd be one of the first in line to buy my book! #FreeBritney
I’ve read a couple of your blog posts before. Now I’m going to sign up for upcoming posts. Thanks. I love reading your posts. You’re so positive and uplifting!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words! We have so much to be proud of here in Granite City – Cutesville – that I just want everyone to feel like I do about this great town!
This is awesome! I’ll have to do the Cutesville stroll- so much is happening to draw interest in to The District!
Let me know when you wanna go! I’ll happily repeat our steps! I love it down there!
Lots of great pics and neat to see all the different kinds of art there is all in one spot in just one place of a few blocks. Good post.
Yes! I love it! So blessed to be living in a community that is prioritizing the art scene! Makes me happy!
Who knew all this was even down there! I’ll have to check it out!
You need to spend more time in Cutesville!
Hey people!!!!!
Good mood and good luck to everyone!!!!!
Thank you, thank you! Couldn’t be happier to have this in my city!
I’ve read a couple of your blog posts before. Now I’m going to sign up for upcoming posts. Thanks. I love reading your posts. You’re so positive and uplifting!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words! We have so much to be proud of here in Granite City – Cutesville – that I just want everyone to feel like I do about this great town!
Wow! I can’t believe there’s all this artwork in downtown Granite City! Good for them for trying to turn the town around! Hope to see more!
Yes! It’s absolutely wonderful & been extraordinarily transformative! Cutesville keeps getting cuter!