Wheaton College Art Professor and Alumni Paint Wheaton 250 Mural in Downtown Wheaton
Jeffrey Swider-Peltz ’18 making progress on the mural.
The section of the mural that features Blanchard Hall.
Recent graduate Carys Davis ’26 removes tape from the mural.
The section of the mural that features the Cock Robin logo.
A bison, one of the shapes that incorporates the raw concrete of the wall.
The mural in progress.
The finished mural.
Associate Professor of Art Jeremy Botts and Jeffrey Swider-Peltz ’18 were selected from a pool of applicants to create a mural for the City of Wheaton to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States. Botts and Swider-Peltz co-designed the mural and invited three alumni to help paint it in June and July.
Associate Professor of Art Jeremy Botts and art department alumnus Jeffrey Swider-Peltz ’18 co-designed a mural in downtown Wheaton to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary. They painted the mural in a style inspired by American Modernism, adjacent to the “WHEATON” mural on the plaza of the Wheaton French Market pavilion. They completed the mural with the assistance of studio art alumnae Eunice Chong ’24, MK Jones ’25, Carys Davis ’26, and Botts’ college-aged daughter, Cora.
“The vision from the city and the fine arts commission was for the mural to depict significant events in the history of Wheaton over the 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence,” said Professor Botts. “Of course, Wheaton is not that old, so the beginning of our timeline begins with the prairie and indigenous, native elements.”
The mural unfolds as a visual timeline from left to right, tracing the city’s layered history. Each section highlights defining eras from Indigenous roots and frontier life to the arrival of the railroad, the Jazz Age, the Bicentennial period, and into the present and future. Flowing colors, geometry, and evolving forms connect these moments while guiding the viewer through time. The mural tells a detailed story grounded in Wheaton’s people, landscapes, and built environment. Blanchard Hall, which served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, is among the buildings featured.
“A central, unifying feature is the phrase ‘Your Hometown’ spelled out across the wall in historically chronological typographic styles, from the 1770s to the present, inviting viewers to physically walk through history as the lettering evolves alongside it,” Professor Botts said.
Some viewers might be surprised that stars and stripes are not prominent in a piece celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“Those symbols are there, but they aren’t central to the design,” said Swider-Peltz, who now works as a visual artist in Chicago. “The piece is meant to demonstrate patriotism within Wheaton by honoring the people and things that make Wheaton what it is.”
The 274-foot-long and 5-foot-tall piece is the longest mural Swider-Peltz, who taught a semester in the art department after graduating, has ever completed.
“Working on this has brought up a lot of nostalgia,” Swider-Peltz said. “The mural has personal elements in it, like the logo of Cock Robin, the burger and ice cream shop I went to when I was younger, which Shane’s Deli replaced. It’s also been rewarding to work on a unique piece that is designed differently than the art I normally make.”
Professor Botts, the mural’s co-designer who participated in painting the mural towards the end of the process, taught Swider-Peltz in the first class he taught at Wheaton 17 years ago. “I was excited to collaborate with him on a large-scale project like this,” Botts said. “The experience of working on this design for our hometown was rewarding.”
For the alumnae who assisted Botts and Swider-Peltz, the project provided a chance to work with their mentors while learning a new medium. Jones, who took classes with Botts and Swider-Peltz while studying studio art at Wheaton, now works in the art department as a studio associate and gallery manager.
“I was so excited to be a part of this project,” said Jones. “I have always had so much respect for people who paint murals. After working on this one, I have 10 times more respect for artists who take these projects on, as they really do find brilliant ways to communicate their artistic style and combine it with a specific space and community. I am thankful to have gotten a glimpse into this medium.”
—Juliana Bacote