Fire scene gets art ahead of rebuild

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The construction fencing around the site of last December's Pine Yard restaurant fire is being turned into a temporary public art project.

The project, at the corner of Davis Street and Oak Avenue, is called “Geocommunetrics: An Intersection of Evanstons.”

Over the next two weeks, local artists will work with designer Jason Brown, also known as "The Zip Code Kid," to complete the art display intended to represent three Evanston zip codes: 60201, 60202 and 60203 -- served from the post office located just across Oak Avenue.

The project, developed by the Evanston Arts Council, is said, in a city news release, to showcase how all public areas can be transformed into a point of interest through art, even during a business’s development stage.

Here's the official story about the colors used in the design -- "brown, for land, representing 60201; blue, for Lake Michigan, representing 60202; green, for wilderness, representing 60203; and orange, which serves as the common thread that weaves our community together."

Some similar designs can be seen online.

Plans to rebuild the single-story commercial building that was destroyed by the fire have been submitted to the city and are scheduled for review by the Site Plan and Appearance Review Committee on Oct. 29.

The mural is expected to remain on view until the new building is completed sometime next year.