Although there has been some art added to the town hall area and to Main Street in the Old Town section of Zionsville, Dahlia City is the first utility box to be authorized by the town for a painted mural. The theme, common to all the painted utility boxes in Zionsville, was Dahlia City, a name that Zionsville was known by in the 1930’s when there were two dahlia farms in the area.  The gold medal at the 1933 World’s Fair was given to “Zion’s Pride”, a dahlia from one of the farms.  A nearby street is also named Dahlia, so the location seemed a good choice for the artist’s rendition of the flower (in golden yellow–the color of the award-winning variety) on a deep blue background.  The words “Dahlia City” appear on the west panel facing Zionsville Road.

Cynthia Young is a Zionsville-based painter and the executive director of the Sullivan-Munce Art Center.  She received her art training at Ball State University and worked as an interior designer in Indianapolis before moving to Zionsville. Originally a spare-time painter, she participates in art fairs and community arts events.