Just over two years after having the idea that would become the Glass City River Wall project, Nicole LeBoutillier and Brandy Alexander-Wimberly took a Sandpiper boat tour to see the work-in-progress mural up close.

“It’s awesome to see a vision come to life,” said Ms. Alexander-Wimberly. “But, more important to me, is the teamwork that went into it.”

The Wednesday afternoon tour was part of a presentation of the mural for the media and, despite a heavy thunderstorm, the mood was jovial as several people who have been involved with the project shared what it meant to them for it to finally come to fruition.

“We love it,” Ms. Alexander-Wimberly said.

Every Monday and Wednesday at 10 a.m., the Sandpiper is offering one-hour Glass City River Wall Watch Tours for the public. Reservations can be made online at sandpiperboat.com.

The mural, projected to be the largest in the United States when it is done, started going up in June by a team of local and regional artists on the river side of the silos spanning the Miami Street grain elevator owned by the global agribusiness Archer Daniels Midland Co.

The design, by Los Angeles artist Gabe Gault, tells the story of Native American tribes who lived along the Maumee’s banks as early as the 1600s, before European settlers arrived. To recognize those who were considered the region’s first farmers, a mother, child, and grandmother will be painted on the three largest silos.

The remaining 25 structures will be painted with an agriculture-inspired design that includes sunflowers and sunchokes, which were harvested by some of the tribes and still grow wild in the area.

The sunflower portion is scheduled to be complete before the Solheim Cup golf tournament, which is scheduled to start Aug. 31 in Toledo.

On the Maumee that day in 2019, Ms. Alexander-Wimberly and Ms. LeBoutillier noted the thousands of drivers who cross I-75’s nearby DiSalle Bridge each day, making the silos an ideal spot for an art project. Two years later and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, the painting is finally happening.

“We were like, here is this huge canvas,” said Ms. LeBoutillier.

The project still needs about $60,000, Ms. LeBoutillier said, and donations can be made at glasscityriverwall.org.

Dean Davis, lead artist for the mural, said the way the team has come together is amazing, navigating through humidity and rain to get the mural complete.

Since June 1, when the painters started, Mr. Davis said there have only been a few rain days and, for the most part, the team has been able to paint Monday through Friday. 

“The elements, honestly, have stayed outside of our range,” he said.

Mr. Davis said throughout the process the team has been able to overcome hurdles and work together naturally so that the piece looks unified as if one artist were painting it.

“The talent and the skill is absolutely incredible,” he said.

Mr. Davis also said he believes the project could lead to more like it and inspire other cities to follow Toledo’s lead in experimenting with murals and artwork in their downtown areas.

“We’re putting ourselves on the map in Toledo,” he said.

Christina Kasper, Glass City River Wall’s project manager, called the mural “a vision of many” and watching the whole city come together behind it makes the process seem like more of a movement.

“We use the word magical all the time,” she said. “It’s magical.”

First Published August 11, 2021, 10:17 p.m.