The Central Tampa News & Tribune
Downtown Goes Uptown With Movable Murals
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Published: March 29, 2008
DOWNTOWN - There's a surreal element to downtown these days.
Several people appear to be window shopping or coming out of an abandoned building on Franklin Street. Down the street, The Beatles, Roy Orbison and several famous painters wait in line to buy tickets to see Elvis. And around the corner, several well-dressed cats - the furry kind - sip martinis underwater.
These movable murals were created by local artists to decorate a section of Franklin Street, roughly between Cass and Tyler streets, that has resisted beautification. Dubbed "Uptown," it's a transitional space between the bustling business center of downtown and Tampa Heights.
"It's such a blighted area that people didn't feel comfortable walking from the Tampa Theatre to the Fly" Bar & Restaurant, which is about four blocks away, said Abbey Dohring, vice president of the Dohring Group, which has offices in the area.
Now, thanks to a grass-roots effort, the area not only sports artwork but also lights and flowers blooming around many of the trees.
"It was a very guerilla attempt to renovate downtown," Dohring said. "Our effort was to make it look lively and to make it more attractive to retail. People come to see it because it is very unique."
With the backing of Commercial Real Estate Women of Tampa Bay, of which she's a member, Dohring started the project with artists Caesar A. Carbajal, Elio Lopez and Jeff Jacoby. They painted the three murals affixed to the vacant building at Franklin and Cass.
"We wanted it to look like a nightclub, but upscale and different, something that would catch people's eyes," Lopez said.
He painted a nightclub entrance with the famous waiting in line. Next to it, Jacoby painted images of famous artists also waiting in line, among them Van Gogh and Dali.
Carbajal painted a whimsical scene of a nightclub interior.
More artists got on board: Valrico artist Jimmy Vann cut out and painted the life-size plywood figures that appear to be window shopping; Dominique Martinez, owner of Rustic Steel Creations, made 75 steel butterflies and affixed them to lampposts and traffic lights; Terry Klaaren worked from a forklift to produce the lofty notes on the side of the building that formerly housed the Cutro music shop; and Chad Fisher created "Hard Water," a steel-and-concrete sculpture resembling a fountain at Franklin and Tyler.
"It reflects a lot of light at night when the lights are on," Dohring said.
The group strung the lights along the 900 block of Franklin, zigzagging them from one side to the other.
Twenty-five businesses and artists eventually constructed and installed 25 murals and sculptures. The artists were paid minimal amounts, basically just for supplies.
Lopez, born and raised in Tampa, had done public art before.
"I like working on a large scale and taking the architecture into consideration," he said. "And when I found out about the purpose of the project - trying to get people to notice downtown Tampa - I thought that was a great concept."
Carbajal was interested in helping Tampa become as culturally attractive as his native Chicago, which prides itself on its public art and architecture.
"I just feel that with exhibitions like this, we're really tapping into what Tampa wants and needs: a city that understands the need for art and culture, and a city that will deliver those prerequisites for city living," he said.
Depending on the weather, the murals will stay up for six months and then be sold at Commercial Real Estate Women's annual silent auction in the fall. Proceeds will be split among the artists and the next downtown renovation, which will be a sculpture design project, Dohring said.
"There are a lot of improvements needed in downtown," she said. "We're creating a colorful corridor between the established and the new."
For information, call Dohring at (813) 233-9111.
Correspondent Esther Hammer can be reached at (813) 835-2108 or ehammer@tampatrib.com.
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