Panhandle Magazine: Spring 2021

Amarillo

Murals

By Eric Miller

Have you seen them?

They are everywhere in Amarillo and Canyon. They represent the hard work and inspiration of artists, business people, educators and civic leaders. They are murals - oversized paintings that take a blank wall and transform it into something to admire, even when you’ve driven by it many times. The murals change with the time of day, amount of sunlight, and distance from the design. They bring color to previously subdued red, brown and gray walls, explains Beth Duke, Executive Director of Center City of Amarillo. In addition, they make outstanding backdrops for selfies, Tik-Toks and other forms of digital self-expression. They are always worth a stop, especially now as we search for things to do in our pandemic world.

Braley Beck, tourism coordinator for the Amarillo Convention and Visitor Bureau, has been an early promoter of city murals. In her job she is always looking for something new for visitors and residents to do. Her work has made her a defacto keeper of information, building a database of murals and art installations and creating a web page that’s a good place to start your own research.

Historic Route 66, particularly SW 6th Avenue between Georgia and Western Streets, is home to more than 20 murals large and small. Try to find “The Heart of Amwerica” mural on the side of 6th Avenue’s Massacre Haunted House, which depicts the entire length of Route 66. It's faded and blocked by trees, but this mural was Instagram-worthy before there was Instagram.

New is the “Welcome to Amarillo” mural on the side of the Route 66 Visitor Center at 1900 SW 6th, site of the old Myers Chicken Restaurant. Scope out Historic Route 66 by car, stop at the murals, shop with local merchants and grab something to eat or drink in one of the diverse restaurants.

Downtown boasts the results of the 2019 Hoodoo Mural Festival, a first-of-its-kind project that linked businesses with local civic and art leaders to create works of art throughout downtown. The festival brought in muralists from across the country to join local artists in improving the downtown streetscape. The festival added six murals, all within a short distance of each other.

The Hoodoo murals, with artist names and locations are:

• Malcolm Byers at 300 SW 7th Avenue

• Jerod DTOX Davies at 212 SW 6th Avenue

• Sandra Fettingis at 509 S. Tyler

• Ms. Yellow at 414 S. Polk

• Blank Spaces Murals & WT Mural Squad at 406 S. Polk

• Emily Ding at 411 S. Fillmore.

“We bought boxes and boxes of spray paint for the festival. In fact, we went to Albuquerque to get the extra paint we needed,” festival co-chair Andrew Hall commented.

Hall, a local resident and Center City board member, compares the Hoodoo collection of murals to nationally-known mural groups such as Crush Walls in Denver and Winwood Walls in Miami. They totally transformed the neighborhoods, making them big contributors to the economic development of the city. Hoodoo 2021 is tentatively set for October 2. To learn more about this project visit www.hoodoomural. com

Jason Boyett guides the City of Amarillo’s Mural Grant Program, an effort of the city’s Beautification and Public Arts Advisory Board. The program went through its first round of grants in 2018 and 2019, which netted a new mural in the passenger terminal at the Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport and four others located at 1200 S. Taylor, 2406 SW 3rd Avenue (two), 3405 S. Western and 3100 SW 6th Avenue.

COVID-19 stalled the effort in 2020, but it’s full speed ahead for 2021. New projects may be selected for development later this year. “We’re

catching up. It’s like dominoes - once one mural is completed it leads to more and more walls becoming canvases,” Boyett says.

Another city-related mural is along the 10th Street underpass between Grant and Garfield Streets. Sponsored by the Barrio Neighborhood Planning Committee, it’s worth parking at either end of the underpass and walking the sidewalks beneath the railroad tracks to see the entire mural.

Two groups of local art students are very active in creating murals: AISD's Blank Spaces and the WT Mural Squad. The AISD team, based at Caprock High School, has created 14 murals with plans and dreams for many more. In return, they have generated $40,000 for scholarships, according to group coordinator Shawn Kennedy, himself a muralist for more than 25 years. The WT Mural Squad just re-created a mural at Canyon’s main intersection at 4th and 23rd. When you go, see if you can name the four local notables in the “Mt. Rushmore” of the Panhandle. continued on page 27

Don’t forget, murals aren’t always found outside. Some of the most artistically important murals in our area can be found inside, including the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (PPHM), Amarillo’s Federal Building (formerly the main post office) and Canyon’s current post office. All these installations were the product of New Deal programs designed to keep painters active during the Great Depression.

“West Texas is blessed with some great mural art from the 1930s and 1940s,” Michael Grauer, former art curator at the PPHM, explains. There are the Julius Woeltz murals in the security lobby of Amarillo’s J. Marvin Jones Federal Building, another New Deal mural in the Canyon post office and murals found in numerous small towns across the Panhandle.

Pioneer Hall at PPHM displays eight murals around the top, completed by either Harold Bugbee or Ben Carlton Mead. They are easy to see; just stand in the center of Pioneer Hall and scan from left to right. This series outlines 700 years of Panhandle history, from the Antelope Creek civilization to the introduction of ranching in the late 1800s. These New Deal murals explain both our history and our artistic leanings. Pay admission at the front desk to enjoy all the history and art within the museum, including a reproduction of Bugbee’s studio.

“Don’t forget the Reddy Kilowatt mural in the Ruhle Building and the collection of Harold Bugbee murals in the basement of the Herring

Hotel. While less accessible, they are very significant parts of our history, and I hope they will be restored,” Grauer says.

Businesses and nonprofit organizations like Quick Quack Car Wash, Six Car Pub and Brewery, Blue Crane Bakery, Blue Sky and Snak Pak for Kids use murals to engage their customers while telling a story. Malcolm Byers, a local muralist who participated in the 2019 Hoodoo Festival, recently created a mural for Pizzeria Nomad at 34th and Georgia that looks good enough to eat.

So, how do you get started on your mural tour? Get your kids involved: develop a “mural” game where they are always on the look-out for murals as you drive around town. As you explore the area, you’ll develop your favorites. We all do.

Beck says, “I don’t have a favorite- it always depends on my mood,” but the Game Quest mural on Historic Route 66 with its link to video games holds a special place in her heart.

Boyett, a fan of abstract design and precision, loves the black and blue geometric pattern on the north wall of 509 S. Tyler - it's one of the Hoodoo Festival murals. I admire the Route 66 mural on the side of the 6th Street Massacre Haunted House and would love to see it restored.

And finally, keep your eyes open. You never know when you’ll spot another mural!

WWW.PANHANDLEMAGAZINE.COM | SPRING 2021