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When you live in cities like Phoenix and love street art, it’s good to take photos and preserve those memories. Otherwise, you can never be sure when cool murals on the side of a building might be painted over or the building itself can be renovated or torn down at any time. Since my last five posts have been on serious subjects I thought it was time to lighten things up and share some of the murals I’ve enjoyed seeing on my exercise walks and explorations through Phoenix during the past few weeks.
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It’s not always easy to get the best pictures of street art since it tends to be large and panoramic. Cell phones are not always the best method of getting ideal pix and you have to be cautious of traffic. After all, there’s no use taking pictures if you get run down and killed standing in the middle of the street. Sometimes patience is required (not my personality gift!) to let vehicles go by so they’re not in the picture either.
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The three photos above are from buildings in the FQ Story Historic District on Roosevelt St. The area was named after developer Francis Quarles Story beginning in the 1920s. Back then it was one of the first neighborhoods in Phoenix to be linked to downtown by a streetcar line. In fact, the present location of the Phoenix Trolly Museum featured in my previous post is only three blocks away from where I took these pictures. I’m intrigued about the name “Weird Garden” on the building above — and what exactly is behind that fence! The fence itself appears to have some odd sea creatures painted on it that are better seen enlarging the photo with your fingers. The brick building might have been a little factory, warehouse or market of some kind many years ago, as the area was semi-industrial.
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Like many other Phoenix neighborhoods that developed at the beginning of the 20th century through the end of World War Two, FQ Story contains an array of architectural styles. These homes can vary from Spanish Colonial to Bungalows, English Tudor, and Art Moderne among several other types. These residential styles also developed in similar fashion throughout the Los Angeles area, significantly shaping the character of both cities.
Along with commercial buildings like the one shown above, the Story Preservation Organization is a non-profit which continuously works to preserve the original character of the homes as much as possible. Hopefully, they can also help to preserve murals like those pictured above. Next week, though, I’ll be featuring some murals from another artsy area of Phoenix known as the Melrose District!
