CofM #7

City of Murals: Delta, CO

Discover and enjoy a portion of the Delta story in its murals

The wealth of murals in Delta, Colorado, created by local artists celebrates the heritage of this community. Most are located along Main Street. This series is numbered in the order in which the murals were painted.

It all started in 1986 when the city was awarded funds for an urban renewal project. A portion of these funds were set aside to begin the “mural project”. The success of this project has led to the expansion of the Delta Public Art Committee which is currently continuing the mural project and initiating a new program for sculpture and other 3 dimensional media art in public places.

In this series of multi-caches, the coordinates given are a virtual (the mural) from which you will gather information to find the second stage which will contain the log to be signed. The second stage has a connection to the first, perhaps only in the owners’ minds, but can you read our minds?

The City of Delta, gateway to the Gunnison River Valley, is located in a wide valley in western Colorado between Grand Junction and Montrose at the confluence of the Uncompahgre and Gunnison Rivers. Delta’s geographic location and lush agricultural land has been attracting inhabitants for over millennia. Evidence suggests that the area’s first inhabitants were the Freemont People, a prehistoric hunting and gathering culture that began to cultivate crops such as corn, squash, and beans before 1200 A.D. Early Anglo settlers also recognized the beneficial agricultural opportunity of the region. Water was diverted from the Gunnison and Uncompahgre Rivers through an extensive irrigation system of ditches and canals which supported the booming agricultural industry. The introduction of Railroads in 1890 further supported the industry by providing easy access and transportation to local growers. Today agriculture, ranching and mineral extraction are still the biggest industries in the region.

Connie Williams is a well-known and highly regarded artist living in Cedaredge, located at the foot of Grand Mesa near Delta. She is an incredibly gifted artist working in a variety of media covering a wide range of subject matter. She works fluidly in watercolor, acrylics and oils. Many of her works are multi-media combining different media along with dimensional textures and elements, which she does in this mural - "Tribute to Agriculture", incorporating utility structures on the building into the total look. Her paintings reflect to a large degree living and growing up in Western Colorado with mountain landscapes and rural country scenes such as in this mural.

To compute second stage:

For North:

If artist’s signature is on opposite side of mural from its title, add 1.480 to the given N coordinate

If artist’s signature is on the same side as mural title, subtract 1.840 to the given N coordinate

For West:

Divide date of mural completion by 1000; add .134 to the quotient, then add the sum to given W coordinate.

CONGRATS! to OrangeJeepofPa for FTF on 8-13-14

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