SUDBURY -- The Elgin street underpass is getting a splash of artistic flare, combining poetry, painting and history.

Sudbury artist Monique Legault was commissioned by the city to do the work.

"All I wanted was Elgin (Street) back in the '50s or the '30s, something that showed the culture, that showed the bustling life that we used to have downtown and hopefully try and bring it back maybe a little," said Legault, a multi-media artist.

The massive mural spans 70 feet and also features another form of art: a poem by Sudbury's Kim Fahner called 'A Poem For the Dream Makers.'

"When I saw Kim Fahner's poem ... it sang what I was trying to paint and so I asked her permission and she gave it to me," said Monique Legault.

The Sudbury poet wrote the poem three years ago.

"This poem was commissioned when I was Poet Laureate back in 2017 by the Sudbury Arts Council," she said. "And they had asked me to write something for the mayor's celebration of the arts, so knew I was going to be writing about different artists and different mediums."

"I thought, how will I put dancers with writers, with actors, with musicians, and I thought of the creative process. So the poem is based on the inspiration that comes to artists as they create."

Both artist said they hope the poetry and painting inspire creativity and encourage people to explore the arts in the city.