TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The legendary Stiffy Green will be coming to life in a new way, in the form of a downtown Terre Haute mural located at J. Ford’s Back Angus.
Award winning local artist Becky Hochhalter submitted the Stiffy Green design for the Arts Illiana and City of Terre Haute mini mural project in fall 2020. The design was selected in September 2020 to be produced on panels and installed somewhere downtown.
“Just having Stiffy Green back where he belongs, in his home, he’s been waiting a long time to be back here and I think it means a lot to people to see him back where he belongs,” Hochhalter said. “I tried to depict him instead of in a scary way, I tried to depict him as the faithful companion.”
The final design by Hochhalter was installed near the corner of Walnut and 7th Streets, on the J. Ford’s Black Angus building, which aptly named the restaurant’s bar the “Stiffy Green Bar” after relocating to the former Heinl’s Flower Shop Building on Walnut Street in 2016. The legend of Stiffy Green alleges the English bulldog was the pet of John G. Heinl, who build Heinl’s Flower Shop, which is now home to J. Ford’s Black Angus.
“When I saw the design of the mural that Becky had created, I knew there was no other place that it could go,” J. Ford’s Black Angus co-owner Chef Jeff Ford said. “Not only is there the connection to Stiffy, but this building is the connector between Stiffy and Heinl. It just felt right.”
Not only did Ford and restaurant co-owner, wife Kelly Ford, champion the project, but also invested to increase the size of the mural. Original plans called for 8ftx8ft, which the Fords expanded to 12ftx12ft. Hochhalter also teased viewing the mural at night would also be special.
“Check it out at night,” she said with a smile. “You won’t be disappointed.”
