'Glass City River Wall' mural planned for ADM silos on east bank of Maumee River

TOLEDO, Ohio — New art is coming to the Glass City.

Toledo-native Nicole LeBoutillier and her friends came up with the idea for the Glass City River Wall during the summer of 2019.

It was during a boat ride down the Maumee River when they passed the ADM silos on the east bank.

"We started talking about what a huge concrete wall it was and kind of an eyesore and we thought, 'Wouldn't this be amazing if this was a mural?'" LeBoutillier described.

She reached out to ADM with her idea and is now watching her vision come to life.

With over 82,000 cars passing the silos daily, LeBoutillier and project manager Christina Kasper put out an international call to find an artist to create a mural that represents Toledo's history.

"There's historic significance to the site," Kasper said. "It was actually built on Native American tenement."

The search ended with Los Angeles-based artist Gabe Gault who Kasper says has come to embrace the city and what the team is looking for.

"I want to do an installation that represents motherhood and children and the former farmers of the land of Ohio," Gault said.

But it's more than just a painting highlighting history. LeBoutillier and Kasper want to bring in an educational aspect for future generations.

"We're working on a curriculum that we can roll out to Toledo area schools that will incorporate a history of the site," LeBoutillier explained. "It will incorporate the English language arts. Really, we're telling a story here."

Now the team is hoping the mural will be completely finished of August before the Solheim Cup starts.

Gault is hoping to use local artists to help project the mural onto the silos.

The budget for the project is $750,000. So far the team has raised about $500,000. If you'd like to chip in, visit glasscityriverwall.org.