Submitted by Foley Main Street
Cat Alley, A Foley Main Street project, is beginning to take shape. A new mural has been added to Downtown Foley. The theme chosen for the seven panel 28 by 8-foot community mural was recreation – things to do in Foley, Alabama. Hannah Legg’s concept was chosen out of twelve entries, and she did a stellar job! In the panels you will see the rose trail, pitcher bog plants, scenes from Graham Creek, a tribute to sports tourism, trains for the train museum and more. Also – hiding in the panels are five cats. Any mural or art created for the alley must have a cat hidden in the art. Three groups worked with Hannah to help paint three of the panels. The Foley High School art class, the Foley Middle School art class, and a group of Foley home schooled youth coordinated by Jessica Kinsey. There will be coloring sheets of the mural at the Foley Welcome Center beginning next month for youth to color their own mural.
The concept of panels in snap frames came to fruition after research and a lot of discussion so that the mural could be hung on an historic building without painting on the building and lightweight enough to not hurt the building. This also made it easier for the youth to participate in painting the panels with Hannah. This Foley Main Street mural was sponsored by the Foley Art Center, with a lot of help from the City of Foley.
The cat alley walkway from Alston Street was started with help from BrightSpeed (formerly Centurylink) who gave the city a ninety-nine-year land easement for the walkway and consented to the removal of barbed wire around their property. Property owner, Marsha Kaiser, gave Foley Main Street permission to place the mural on her building.
There is more to come for this alley activation project known as Cat Alley. Cat Alley is a Foley Main Street project in Downtown Foley. Deborah Mixon, Board of Director of Foley Main Street and Chair of the Design committee that is working on Cat Alley said “This is just one example of how multiple groups and individuals working together can make something happen in Downtown Foley. This project is just one of many that Foley Main Street is working on with our partners to improve the economic vibrancy of downtown Foley.”