Artistic Tour of J-Town

Greene County is surrounded by beautiful scenery, charming historical buildings, and captivating art. The art community has covered a good portion of Jefferson in beautiful works of art! Rooftop installations, murals, and sculptures are sprinkled throughout the downtown and surrounding area. Let’s take a virtual walk through the beauty of it all!

Rooftop Art Installations

Taking a ride up to the top of the Bell Tower gives the best view of downtown’s rooftop art! There are currently 6 rooftops that are covered, with more in the works. Rooftop art projects are supported through the Tower View Team, who applies for grants each year that make downtown beautification projects possible. The most recent installations were on top of Peony Chinese restaurant, and the building directly East. Both installations were done by artist Dana Harrison. He has also painted a mural on the West side of the building featuring beautiful peonies!

Murals

There are lots of fun murals around town! A quick drive around Jefferson will reveal several projects that have been completed by art classes at Greene County High School, local artists, and outside artists alike. 

The left-most photo above is just a small peak at a detailed, alley-length, interactive mural done by artist Kelsey Wilson! The Imagination Alley project was made possible by a grant from Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation, a donation from Home State Bank, a donation from Friends of the Jefferson Iowa Public Library, artist Kelsey Wilson and Tower View Team.

Artistic businesses

Jefferson has several creative and artistic businesses - Art on the Fly, Elliot Studio, Meythaler Photography, RVP, ShineOn Designs, The Stitch, and Warm Wishes. And those are just the businesses on the square! There are a lot of creative individuals that provide freelance services in and around Jefferson.

Art Classes are currently available at Art on the Fly, The Stitch, and Warm Wishes. Classes can include knitting, quilting, calligraphy, sign making, plaster painting, and more! Grab a friend or five and plan to participate in the next class that catches your eye.

There are several artistic events throughout the seasons. Make sure you are following Experience Jefferson and Jefferson local businesses on Facebook for regular updates. Jefferson is a small town full of big personality - we’d love to have you visit and stay to Experience it all!