Located next to Washington D.C.'s Lincoln Theatre is Ben's Chili Bowl, a restaurant established in 1958 that has become an integral part of the community.

This restaurant has been visited by some of the greats, such as Chris Tucker and former President Barack Obama, and was even featured in the 2009 movie State of Play.

Besides its food, however, Ben's has long been known for its art. A mural outside of the establishment drew crowds; however, because the work wasn't weather-treated, it began to decay.

Which led the restaurant to commission a new work featuring black legends.

On Wednesday, the restaurant in a ribbon-cutting event revealed the new mural painted on the side of the restaurant.

Dave Chappelle and others spoke at the event.

The new work was created by local artist Aniekan Udofia, and features the faces of 15 iconic black figures.

Dick Gregory, Dave Chappelle, Marion Barry, Jim Vance, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Wale, Russ Parr, Taraji P. Henson, Donnie Simpson, Roberta Flack, Prince, Chuck Brown, Muhammad Ali, Harriet Tubman, Michelle Obama and Barack Obama are all there larger than life!

The old mural included Chuck Brown, President Obama, Donnie Simpson, and Bill Cosby. Bill Cosby was the only face previously featured that didn't make the cut for the new edition.

According to NBC Washington, 30,000 citizens who voted on which faces would grace the side of Ben's.Cosby was included in the vote, as oddly, Ben's management team didn't think about the Cosby trial.

“You know what’s so funny, we didn’t even think about it until someone brought it to our attention," said Vida Ali, daughter-in-law of the founders. "It was purely on the voting".

And the voters voted wisely. The mural is stunning. You can check out photos of the work below:

Photo: John Muller/Washington City Paper

Photo: John Muller/Washington City Paper

Photo: John Muller/Washington City Paper

Aniekan Udofia

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