A striking new mural featuring Southern California vibes has transformed the facade of a historic building in Chicago's Near North Side, bringing bright colors and West Coast style to the urban landscape. Los Angeles-based artist Melanie Posner completed the 30-foot artwork on a 150-year-old residential building at 10 W. Chestnut Street, directly across from Loyola University's Water Tower campus.

The project presented extraordinary challenges that made it the most difficult work of Posner's career. Unable to fit a mechanical lift into the narrow space beside the building, the commissioning team constructed tiered scaffolding that required Posner to climb a 60-foot ladder daily. She painted the mural one strip at a time, scrambling up and down the scaffolding throughout the process. "It was honestly the craziest mural I've done in my life," Posner said. "It was a labor of love for sure." The artist didn't see the complete artwork until the scaffolding was removed after completion.

The vibrant mural depicts a woman wearing a loose green tank top, matching swirly green earrings, and bright green sunglasses. Behind her, the sun appears to shine like a halo with the phrase "one destination, endless possibilities" arcing over her head. A pink, blue, and purple sky glows in the background, with palm tree shadows visible over one shoulder. Gaming elements are cleverly incorporated into the design, with dice and three sevens resembling slot machine symbols reflected in the woman's sunglasses.

Beyond the scaffolding difficulties, Posner faced additional unique obstacles during the three-and-a-half-day painting process. The project required her to use spray paints instead of her typical brushes, forcing her to adapt her usual technique. Multiple rain delays also extended the timeline as she worked to complete the artwork that now stretches across the top two floors of the four-story apartment building.

The mural was commissioned as part of a promotional campaign celebrating the opening of Hollywood Casino Joliet in August, though the artwork features minimal branding. Apart from the gambling imagery and a small QR code in the upper corner, the only connection to the casino is the woman's earrings, which match the establishment's color scheme. "I primarily paint women and my work is very vibrant," Posner explained. "The colors just make me really happy and they play really well with the messaging that I'm trying to portray."

Unlike many temporary street art installations, this mural is designed to be a permanent addition to the Chicago streetscape. The age and construction of the historic brick building make removal extremely difficult, giving the artwork a sense of lasting impact. "With the brick that it's on, we were told that it should be there indefinitely," Posner noted. "It would be really, really hard to remove because of how old the building is. I look at her in a different light because of that. With public art, not everything is temporary."