Greyhound bus station to be decorated

EVANSVILLE – Local officials are looking to the past in their efforts to make a downtown block attractive to developers in the future.

The Evansville Redevelopment Commission has agreed to pay eight artists a total of $1,000 to paint Art Deco images on five plywood panels now covering the windows of the former Greyhound bus station.

Commissioners saw samples showing images of a bus, greyhound, man and woman rendered in the Art Deco style popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The station itself dates to the 1930s.

Tom Barnett, executive director of the city Department of Metropolitan Development, said the project is meant to make the Greyhound station more appealing to potential developers. The Redevelopment Commission paid $237,500 for the city block in late 2007.