DePaul University Newsline > Multimedia > "The Story of 'The Little School Under the "L" ' — Under the 'L', " through the years

"The Story of 'The Little School Under the "L" ' — Under the 'L', " through the years

Oct. 20, 2022

On Oct. 15, the final murals in the Fullerton "L" station project titled "The Story of 'The Little School Under the "L" ' — Under the 'L', " were dedicated in a ceremony attended by dozens of DePaul alumni and community members.

The ceremony completed the multi-year public art project, which saw Brother Mark Elder, C.M., a faculty member in DePaul's Art School, work with more than 100 DePaul students, alumni and community members to wrap 25 gray Chicago Transit Authority pillars with colorful, 10-foot-tall paintings representing key moments and figures in the university's 125-year history.

This photo gallery takes a look back at the project through the years. Read more about the murals in Newsline.

Brother Mark Elder, C.M., stands beside his mural of Rev. Francis Xavier McCabe, C.M., DePaul’s third president. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)

The murals project began during the 2015-16 academic year. Here, Brother Mark Elder, C.M., measures support columns underneath the CTA's Fullerton "L" stop during his Mural Painting class in April 2016. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)

In this July 2016 photo, Brother Mark Elder, C.M., works quietly in his attic office atop Levan Hall as he puts the finishing touches on a mural featuring DePaul's first female graduates, Sister Mary Teresita and Sister Mary Clemenza Leahy. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)

Painted pillars show Ray Meyer, Benjamin Hooks, Rose Vaughn and Marion Amoureux

DePaul coaching legend Ray Meyer, civil rights activist and 1948 Law School graduate Benjamin Hooks, and Rose Vaughn and Marion Amoureux, the university's first African American women to graduate, make up three of the murals on display under the CTA's Fullerton "L" station. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)

Brother Mark Elder, C.M., and Francesca Vitale look over an artwork.

In July 2018, Brother Mark Elder, C.M., left, and DePaul student Francesca Vitale worked in the attic of Levan Hall to put the finishing touches on the mural honoring the 50th anniversary of the Black Student Union at DePaul. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)

Brother Mark Elder, C.M., and Amy Kellenberger work on either side of a pillar

Brother Mark Elder, C.M., and 2015 DePaul graduate Amy Kellenberger teamed with others in July 2018 to install three new murals. Seen here is a mural honoring DePaul basketball star George Mikan, a 1959 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)

Brother Mark Elder, C.M., working with students on a mural

Brother Mark Elder, C.M., worked with current and former students in July 2018 to install a mural honoring the 50th anniversary of DePaul's Black Student Union. The mural also remembers the student protests of 1969 held on campus. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)

A painted pillar with a mural sporting the words "Victory Song."

This mural by Brother Mark Elder, C.M., remembers the DePaul "Victory Song," which was written in 1930 by Arthur C. Becker, the founding dean of the School of Music, and faculty member J. Leo Sullivan. The "Victory Song" served as the university's first official fight song throughout the 1930s. It was later revived and has served as the official fight song since 1965. The mural also honors Becker's service as dean of the School of Music from its founding in 1918 to 1966. (DePaul University/Randall Spriggs)

A mural honoring the Chicago Transit Authority, whose Red and Brown "L" lines connect the university's Lincoln Park and Loop campuses. The Fullerton "L" stop was built in 1900, just two years after DePaul's founding in 1898. (DePaul University/Randall Spriggs)

Brother Mark Elder, C.M., the visionary behind the Fullerton "L" Station mural project, speaks to a crowd on Oct. 15, 2022, to dedicate the final murals of the "The Story of 'The Little School Under the "L" ' — Under the 'L' " project. In the background is a mural of Saint Vincent de Paul, also done by Elder. (DePaul University/Russell Dorn)