This long mural covers both sides and the ceiling of the pathway tunnel under I-25 in Northglenn, Colorado. The mural highlights the history of the City of Northglenn including historic locations such as the (now demolished) Garland Shopping Center, the 'swoop-roof' church, the Northglenn Recreation/Community Center, mounted Police Officer as well as wild animals including wolf, bison, geese ducks, landscape and flowers. Swirls and other geometric forms connect the mural's features. I took photos inside the tunnel as well as looking into the tunnel from each side.
"Northglenn’s history on display
Artist signing prints anniversary mural from at city’s July 4th celebration
Chad Bolsinger’s latest mural ended up being five times longer than any project he’d done before.
“The longest I’d done before was about 120 feet, and even then you’re ready to be finished,” Bolsinger said about his work on Northglenn’s 50th anniversary mural on the walls of the tunnel under Interstate 25. The tunnel is 600 feet long.
“That’s a long way to go for a human being, keeping the theme and your creativity going,” Bolsinger said.
Bolsinger will join Michael Stricker, director of the Northglenn Arts and Humanities Foundation, at a booth during the city’s July 4 celebration at E. B. Rains Jr. Park.
He’ll be signing prints from the actual mural.
“We’ll print as many as we can and give them out until we run out,” Stricker said.
The mural should be familiar to many of the attending the July 4 festival since it covers the tunnel connecting the RTD Wagon Road Park-n-Ride with Northglenn’s Community Center Complex.
“It’s kind of a gateway into the city, even though it connects two parts of the city,” Stricker said. “We have so many events now, from the Food Truck Carnival to the Pirates and July 4, and a lot of people park in that lot. So a lot of people are going to be seeing that mural.”
Northglenn officially became a city in April 1969 and local officials have planned a series of event to mark the occasion. The mural was done to honor Northglenn’s 50th anniversary, part of a year’s worth of events and celebrations.
It was funded by the city and Northglenn’s Arts and Humanities Foundation.
“We’ve purchased several sculptures, but this is the first time we’ve done a mural,” Stricker said. “We’re really pleased with how it turned out.”
Northglenn Arts selected Bolsinger in February to design and paint the mural.
Bolsinger, a Denver resident, has painted some well-known murals around the area. They include a silver rhinoceros that was located on the back of some buildings in Denver’s River North — or RiNo — neighborhood and a building-sized image of Albert Einstein along South Broadway.
The arts group hosted a photo and memory gathering session and encouraged residents to stop by with mementos and personal photographs from Northglenn’s history. Staff scanned photos at one station while volunteers talked with residents about their memories of the city, from its early days through the current day.
Bolsinger said that helped.
“That process gave me those images and some ideas,” he said. “It let me put things together in a way that reflects a little of the life out there,” he said.
Stonehocker and Rocket Park
The mural uses several images gathered at that February meeting, Stricker said. That includes the entrance to the old May D and F store in the Northglenn Mall, a view of Webster Lake and even a food truck meant to honor the city’s popular Food Truck Carnival each spring.
Another section depicts the house at Stonehocker Farm, one of the preserved historical sites in the city. That house hosts Northglenn’s annual Christmas holiday celebration.
“All of the places are real,” he said. “We tried to represent the past of the city and how it’s changed.”
Another section shows the rocket playground equipment that was located at Larson Park.
“But everyone called it `Rocket Park’ back then because of that piece,” he said. “All of these images came from the public, and I think there are around 14 different images.”
Those images have been captured in the prints the Bolsinger will be signing, Stricker said.
Posted Wednesday, June 26, 2019 2:27 pm; Scott Taylor; staylor@coloradocommunitymedia.com" (from (
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About the artist: "Chad Bolsinger chases dreams to make them reality. Bachelor of Fine Arts from Fort Lewis College, this Denver based artist is a painter, muralists, street artist and illustrator. His recognizable style often brings a realistic approach to surrealistic settings. His characters are highly detailed, and the shading makes them look life-like until he strikes them with neon and dreamy colors bringing his out worldly imagination to reality. Lately he took part in the Visionary Art Show with world renown artist Alfredo Zageceta." (from (
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"Tunnel Mural Project to Begin Production in May
In celebration of the City of Northglenn's 50th Anniversary, Northglenn Arts - in partnership with the Northglenn Arts & Humanities Foundation (NAHF) - is installing its first public art mural. The mural will be located in the pedestrian tunnel under I-25 that links the Northglenn Civic Center to the RTD Wagon Road Park-N-Ride. The project will not only celebrate the city's milestone anniversary, but it will help beautify a heavily-used pedestrian thoroughfare.
In the fall of 2018, a public art committee comprised of Northglenn citizens and art advocates selected Denver-based muralist Chad Bolsinger to design and complete the installation. Over 40 artists submitted from around the country and Mr. Bolsinger was selected for his bold site-appropriate style and insight into interpreting the pride of Northglenn residents. Bolsinger has painted some well-known murals around the area including a silver rhinoceros in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood and a building-sized image of Albert Einstein along South Broadway. He recently finished a project in Puerto Rico, will be a participating artist at the 2019 Crush Walls Festival in RiNo, and exhibited at the 2017 Visionary Art Show with Alfredo Zageceta.
The tunnel mural project will illustrate the history of Northglenn with an eye towards its future heritage. “Obviously, we’re celebrating 50 years,” Bolsinger said. “So we want to draw attention to the past 50 years — what Northglenn is and how it came to be — while bringing attention to where Northglenn is going.”
The mural is slated to begin production in May of this year, with a public dedication of the completed project scheduled during the city's July 4thfestivities.
The mural is being funded by the city and the Northglenn Arts & Humanities Foundation." (from (
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The coordinates are the west entrance of the tunnel.