Stonington ― Tucked away under the Alpha Avenue viaduct, a work of art celebrates Stonington Borough and the local artist who called the small seaside village his home.

Under the viaduct on Cutler Street, where the late Lee Dadalt was born, the Cultural District Commission has installed a banner of the artist’s painting, “Boro Rooftops.”

“It is iconic. If you say ‘Show me a picture of what Stonington Borough village looks like,’ that’s it,” said Paul Geise, the commission’s chairman.

“Boro Rooftops,” gives an elevated southern view of the borough looking out from near School Street over rooftops toward the breakwater. Geise said the painting is the work of art to welcome people to the village and acknowledge the artists and cultural richness of the Borough.

With permission and support from Dadalt’s family and the painting’s owner, the painting was reproduced on a weatherproof banner and hung beneath the viaduct with a sign that celebrates the artist and the art that has been created in the village.

“His artistry is a tribute to and advocacy for the rich tapestry of creative arts and artists— past, present and future — within the Stonington Cultural District,” the sign reads in part.

As an artist, Dadalt worked in a wide variety of mediums, creating both two-dimensional works like paintings, etchings and wood cuttings, and three-dimensional works including pottery and sculptures.

Dadalt spent his career as an art teacher in the Lyme-Old Lyme public schools where he taught from 1973 until his retirement in 2003. He passed away in 2007.

Geise said the painting, completed most likely in the mid-1980’s, was on display at the La Grua Center last May when state officials came to the center to announce the approval of Stonington’s two cultural districts.

“He was well known and well revered. He was award winning, but he never showed his art publicly,” Geise said, noting that the cultural district recognition coincided with the first time Dadalt’s art had been shown.

Cultural districts are small, walkable districts within cities and towns intended to promote economic growth and development, expand the tax base, increase tourism and highlight the distinctive character, culture and history of the area.

Stonington was the first town in Connecticut to have two cultural districts: the Stonington Village Cultural District, which encompasses much of the area from the Velvet Mill to the Lighthouse Museum, and the Mystic Bridge Cultural District which includes most of downtown Mystic from Mystic Seaport Museum to the drawbridge.

Geise said last week that initially, the commission wanted to have a muralist recreate the painting on the viaduct but could not get permission to do so from the Department of Transportation.

He said the banner is an ideal solution because it is made from weather tolerant materials and can be moved to a different location when repairs to the viaduct begin in the next few years.

As to the unexpected location of the banner, Geise said he often describes the area as “a region filled with nooks and crannies.”

“That’s the charm and the beauty of this place. There’s an intimacy to it, and the key is to just get lost in it, just walk around corners because you never know what you’re going to find,” he said.

The project cost of approximately $700 was underwritten by the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce.