Residents of American Fork can now see their city through the eyes of artist Eric Dowdle in a new mural located at 50 North Center Street in American Fork.

The highly detailed mural showcases landmarks from American Fork, the Alpine Stake Tabernacle and American Fork High School to local businesses such as Parker’s Drive-In and Towne Cinemas. and will be available for purchase as a 500 piece puzzle.

Dowdle started his business in the 90s when he started selling custom house paintings, door-to-door. Now he has a partnership with Disney, painting their iconic characters, and Dowdle Folk Art has sold over 10 million puzzles worldwide.

To decide which establishments and which people should be part of the cityscape, Dowdle first meets with city officials to determine their “must haves” and find out what items are on their wish list.

“The wishlist that we might not put everything in because if we put everything on it would start to look like Where’s Waldo…just a little over the top,” Dowdle said. “The city does most of the steering in terms of content.”

Dowdle has painted other Utah municipalities, including Provo, Salt Lake City, and St. George, and has a long waiting list of towns hoping to be commemorated in a Dowdle original. What sets American Fork apart is the tenacity of two of its residents, Summerisa and Spencer Stevens, president and vice president of the Harrington Center for the Arts.

“All credit goes to the Harrington Center for the Arts, all credit goes to Spencer and his wife Summerisa, those two are fantastic,” Dowdle said. “They called us and they incited him. I didn’t know if I was going to have the time to do it, we get asked to do a lot of different cities and places… but they were so passionate and they love the arts, that’s what made it possible.

Dowdle believes the time and energy invested by American Fork City and the Harrington Center for the Arts will help establish the city as a center for the arts in the future.

“Any city that takes the time and energy to rejuvenate this part of town goes a long way,” he said. “That’s why I believe that by doing what they’re doing, American Fork…is going to become a more artistic center here in Utah County.”

The mural was unveiled Saturday at a community event that included live performances, bouncy houses, food and more. Dowdle added that the celebration had an “old-school Americana” feel to it.

Those interested in purchasing their own limited-edition American Fork prints or 500-piece puzzles can place pre-sale orders at http://harringtoncenter.org. The target date for pre-order fulfillment is June 11.

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