New Beltline murals draw admirers

[attach]7207[/attach]Dozens of local residents gathered under the Beltline Trail’s Eglinton bridge on Sunday, Nov. 10 for bagels and hot apple cider. And to witness the unveiling of the other half of the much-talked-about Beltline mural.

Conceived by Friends of the Beltline founder Donna Koegl, who also organized the unveiling, the two-part mural on the concrete walls of the Eglinton Avenue overpass was painted during a period of three months by artists Viviana Astudillo and Logan Miller.

One side, depicting workers and passengers from the late 19th-century Beltline Railway that operated here, was completed in August. The other side, finished Nov. 3, illustrates the natural walking trail that now exists on the bed of the extinct railway.

Originally a passenger train and later a freight line, the Beltline was shut down for good in the 1960s. The city converted the lands into the 4.5-kilometre linear Kay Gardner Beltline Park.

“They’ve captured so much of what the Beltline is,” Koegl said of Astudillo and Miller. “It was wonderful to watch them work.

“Our community has come together this way,” Ward 22 councillor Josh Matlow said at the event.

Winding up a speech, Koegl asked if anyone else wanted to add anything. Eight-year-old Kate Joelman jumped out of the
crowd and shouted, “I like the Beltline!” to laughter and applause.

“It’s very earthy,” she said afterward when asked what she thinks of the new mural. “I really like how it looks.”