In the News
Trolley poster born of desire to promote streetcars
Kenosha News - October 2008
Mike Pavelich moved to Kenosha from northeastern Illinois five years ago because, in part, he fell in love with the streetcars here.
He settled in HarborPark, where he sees the trolleys constantly.
"The trolleys get a lot of bad publicity, but they were one of the reasons I moved here," said Pavelich, who had created an old-style travel poster of one of Kenosha's streetcars.
I love the flavor the trolleys give to the neighborhood," he said, "Most people aren't aware of 'rail fans' - people who travel just to see railroad-related things. I think Kenosha has quite an underappreciated gem in the streetcars. But people come from miles around to see it, and if definitely promotes tourism"
Pavelich is a digital artist who decided to create the poster to boost the trolleys.
"I'm a big fan of vintage travel posters and Depression-era Work Projects Administration posters, which show various locations and points of interest," he said. "I thought that the streetcar would be perfect for a poster, and I was surprised that nobody had done it."
The streetcars help make Kenosha unique, he said.
"If you don't live in Kenosha you might not know about them," he said. "I'm not sure how many cities are operating streetcars like those, but they're pretty unique."
He painted the green "4606 Chicago" trolley, with the Rhode Opera house and the old Mayer Drug sign in the background and the words "Ride the Trolley" at the top.
He's selling the posters for $22 apiece. They are signed and numbered in a limited edition of 500.
"It was really not a money-related decision to do the poster," he said. "It was more to celebrate something and raise people's awareness."
For more information write him at mpavelich@aol.com.