The California State Railroad Museum Foundation commissioned a significant revitalization of the iconic and freeway-facing mural as part of the 2017 Wide Open Walls mural festival that occurred August 10-20, 2017.
The large-scale 25’ tall X 21’ wide mural is secured on the side of the California State Railroad Museum building and is clearly visible by drivers on the heavily traveled I-5 freeway.
With a degree of creative license incorporated into the original design, the mural showcases a steam engine as it figuratively breaks through the brick wall of the building.
Originally commissioned by the California State Railroad Foundation 18 years ago – timed to coincide with Railfair ’99 – the eye-catching artwork was designed and created by artist Stephanie Taylor, who is the same artist who updated the mural in August. In addition to being a licensed Disney fine artist, Taylor is a dynamic and multi-talented artist who has been creating site-specific installations and paintings for 40 years, all over the United States and in Paris. Additionally, she has more than 30 large-scale mural and sculpture projects in the Sacramento region.
As part of the city-wide street art festival, Taylor reworked the mural from a lift for about four hours per day.