Recent and Current Projects

Beautification, Arts & Sciences awards up to $4,500 for projects that enhance the urban environment and provide a lasting benefit to the community. Artists, community members and groups, schools, local businesses and nonprofits are eligible to apply and receive funding for publicly accessible and/or publicly visible projects like community gardens, neighborhood paths, benches, murals and more.

Applications are accepted on bi-annual deadlines, March 15 and September 15 at 5:00 p.m., and presented for approval by the Beautification and Public Art Commission at November and May meetings. 

Anticipated Completion Date: Yearly and ongoing

For More Information: Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Manager, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov 

Pictured: Detail from "Volunteerism: A Pathway to Peace" by Flagstaff artist Lindsey DeStefano to commemorate the centennial of the Rotary Club of Flagstaff.

This project is located next to the Pay ‘N Take on West Aspen Avenue and licenses space from the CenturyLink parking lot adjacent to the site. It is across from the Orpheum Theater. It will transform several parking spaces at the CenturyLink building into space for bicycle parking and seating amenities in Downtown Flagstaff. 

Anticipated Completion Date: Spring/Summer 2023

For More Information: Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Manager, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov 

This Beautification in Action Grant-funded project provides the addition of a pollinator garden and interpretive signage at the entrance to Bonito Street Community Garden, established in 2009, which aims to beautify the space while educating the public on the importance of growing food sustainably, providing pollinator habitat, and increasing green spaces in our urban communities. Higher interest in gardening during the COVID-19 pandemic led to all garden plots being rented for the first time in its history during the 2020 growing season and highlights the role nature plays in a healthy community. The newly installed welcome sign was painted by Robert Chambers.

Estimated Completion Date: Fall 2022

Location: Bonito Street Community Garden, 527 W. Elm St.

For More Information: Community Gardens — Terra BIRDS 

Visitors and residents will soon have the opportunity to appreciate some of Flagstaff’s lesser-known history when traveling via the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport. An upcoming placemaking project uses whimsical imagery to spark curiosity while celebrating the history, environment, and culture of Flagstaff and its surroundings. Titled The Coconino Scroll, this project will consist of about 270 feet of decorative weathering steel fencing accented by stained glass elements for touches of vibrant color. The Coconino Scroll will be complemented by Footnotes, 25 cast bronze plaque medallions embedded within the sidewalk adjacent to the fence. This element will provide brief background and informational text about the fence’s images and stories. 

Anticipated Completion Date: October 2022

For More Information: Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Manager, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov 

The new Downtown Connection Center will be constructed on West Phoenix Avenue between South Milton Road and South Mikes Pike. The City is working with public artists Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan and Mountain Line’s design team for a new DCC, a hub for public transit and other transportation modes. Direction for the project is to successfully contextualize art and beautification into the hub and the adjoining civic space that exemplifies an ideal transportation hub – active, connected, welcoming – and its location within the neighborhood. Currently five project ideas are under consideration, and are anticipated to be complete in phases. The first project anticipated for completion is the Art Glass Façade for the DCC building entry. The artist team is currently working the design team to integrate their BPAC approved concept into the building design. 

Estimated Completion Date: Art glass fabrication anticipated in 2023 and installation in 2024. The Grove Sculpture for either the building plaza or the civil space and Interpretive Plaques on the Route 66 bridge along Phoenix should have design complete in 2023, with installation possibly in 2024. The interpretative plaque project with Historical Preservation can start at any time and will take about nine months from start to finish. Other art pieces under consideration for are rotating bus shelter or crosswalk art. The crosswalk art requires City policy change which will be pursed in 2023 with the project initiating if approval is given. The bus shelter art is in a later phase of the overall project and no date is yet available. 

Location: Downtown Connection Center, West Phoenix Avenue between South Milton Road and South Mikes Pike  

For More Information:  Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Manager, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov, and www.mountainline.az.gov  

Several bright murals by Mural Mice Universal at the East Flagstaff Community Library encourage young readers to sit down and stay a while. However, during necessary closures throughout the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, library leadership decided to commission a new mural to welcome visitors upon safe reopening. Mural Mice artist Maggie Dewar painted “Community Hope” in the tween section in August 2020, the inclusive design drawn from community discussions on the importance of unity and hope during challenging times. The multilingual text is translated as follows: “K'e' béé sihasin” means “Hope through Kinship” (Diné, by Rose Toehe), "Sumi Nungwa" means “To come together to help and benefit one another with no expectation of reward” (Hopi, by Ed Kabotie), and “Unidos en la esperanza del mundo” means “We are united in the hope of the world” (Spanish, by Andrea Barrantes).

Location: East Flagstaff Community Library, 3000 N. Fourth St.

For More Information: www.muralmice.com and www.flagstaffpubliclibrary.org  

After the onset of the pandemic, the City formed a cross-division group to provide more amenities in the City’s outdoor and right-of-way spaces in the historic core. The goals of this effort were to provide more usable space for social distancing and to assist businesses in surviving while making the downtown vibrant. Spaces such as Heritage Square were made more usable, welcoming and beautiful. Additionally, the City created pilot ‘parklets’ with local restaurants and bars to provide additional outdoor space. These lessons and efforts continue, and this group and resulting projects will add enhancements to Flagstaff now and for years to come. Examples of elements our Beautification, Arts and Science team implemented include: 

• Use of the flower program to provide infrastructure to weight gazebos and beautify Heritage Square
• Art wraps and murals in alleys
• Large movable flower planters to help with street closures during community events

Location: Historic Core

Anticipated completion: Ongoing.

For More Information: Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Manager, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov

Largely complete, Among Trees, by local artist Marie Jones, graces Beaver Street at the new municipal courthouse, located at 101 W. Cherry Avenue. The artwork is made with water-jet cut Corten Steel, which naturally rusts over time, and blue, yellow, and green powder-coated aluminum panels. The theme, recognizing the draw of the forest in Flagstaff, is the experience of being among the pines. The artwork takes a human, eye-level perspective. From the street, the rich color peeks through rusted steel to portray abstracted patterning that reflects the feeling of being and moving among the pines. The morning sun brightens the color and the afternoon shadow deepens it, while the lights at night emphasize the abstract patterns. For the pedestrian viewer, a Wendell Berry poem, "I Go Among Trees"*, cut into the rusted steel, reveals itself. Though we find our own meanings in poetry, the suggestion of facing concerns and recovering personal peace is beautifully told, and possibly relevant and comforting to anyone headed to court. For those not entering but just passing by, it may simply speak to how the forest resets us after a long day or week.  

Marie Jones Artist Statement

David McIntire Reads Among Trees  

Rose Toehe Reads Remember

*"I Go Among Trees" by Wendell Berry, © 2013 From This Day: Sabbath Poems Collected and New 1979-2013; Permission of Counterpoint Press 

For More Information: Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Manager, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov 

More than 40 hanging flower baskets, 20 wine barrel plantings, and a high- visibility pollinator garden in Heritage Square now bring cheer to Flagstaff’s downtown, southside and Fourth Street gateway plaza. The City’s beautification program partners with local business Foxglove Gardening to bring these elements to our community. The program also includes fall/winter spruce plantings and lights as part of Flagstaff’s Holiday spirit. 

The program also goes beyond aesthetics, providing planted wine barrels to weight the gazebos in Heritage Square, and large metal planters to serve as infrastructure for street closures during community events. Similarly, local businesses utilized some of the plantings for pilot ‘parklets’ for outdoor seating, helping to protect people from traffic. This project is related to the ‘Expanded Use of Right-of-Way.’

Estimated Completion Date: Yearly and ongoing

Location: Downtown and the Southside.

For More Information: Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Manager, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov 

Nestled on a nondescript plot of land, the Historic Southside Community Garden is on its way to becoming a point of pride for Flagstaff’s oldest neighborhood. A panel made up of members of the Southside Community Association and Beautification and Public Arts Commission will soon be selecting local artists to contribute placemaking elements in the garden. Possibilities include benches, entryways and signage, landscaping, sculptures and more.  

Estimated Completion Date: Fall 2022 

Location: Historic Southside Community Garden (formerly O’Leary Street Community Garden), 900 S. O’Leary St. 

For More Information: www.terrabirds.org/community-gardens

This Beautification in Action Grant project provides an outdoor mural by local Hopi artist Duane Koyawena. It aims to instill hope in youth served by the Coconino County Juvenile Court by making the entrance to the new Hope Assessment Center colorful and inviting. The mounted art depicts a flower growing from a crack in the concrete with a Hopi Sun providing warmth and encouraging life to overcome difficult circumstances. The project is visible to members of the public as well when they visit either the Police Department or Adult Detention Center.

Completion Date: Spring 2022

Location: Coconino County Juvenile Court, 1001 E. Sawmill Road

For More Information: www.dkoyawenaarts.com and coconino.az.gov/187/Juvenile-Court  

BPAC approved local Jake Bacon to restore a British phone booth to turn in to a tiny library. The public voted (via Community Forum) to locate this at the Visitor Center. Economic Vitality has requested a Route 66 element be included in the project, such as a painting on the back of the piece. Staff will coordinate public art participation through inclusion of BPAC on selection panel.

Location: Visitor Center, 1 E. Route 66

Anticipated Completion Date: Fall 2022

For More Information: Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Manager, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov 

The Lone Tree Overpass Project will create a north-south roadway connection extending Lone Tree Road between Butler Avenue to the south and Route 66 to the north. The roadway will be on a grade-separated bridge that will go over the BNSF Railway main line corridor and the future Rio de Flag Channel. This new overpass aims to provide connectivity; traffic congestion relief on streets like Milton Road, San Francisco Street, and Beaver Street; and improved mobility to surrounding neighborhoods. The overpass includes sidewalks and bike lanes, and complements the community’s need for these multi-model options with access points connecting to the Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS). Our Beautification, Arts and Sciences team is partnering on the project to bring artistic and aesthetic components to the project with a public art process. 

First Preliminary Designs: July 2022, with completed design in 2023

Anticipated Construction Completion: Late 2026

As a hub for the Southside Community Association, the Murdoch Community Center welcomes the public to connect within its walls as well as in its outdoor chess park. Beautification elements to be added to this Beautification in Action Grant-funded project include inviting seating, a walkway, and landscaping with native flowering bushes and plants to encourage use. The chess board itself was built in 2018 with materials donated by Home Depot and Landscape Connections. 

Estimated Completion Date: Fall 2022 

Location: Murdoch Community Center, 203 E. Brannen Ave. 

For More Information: www.southsideflagstaff.com/about, or call (928) 226-7566  

Several commemorative monuments and placemaking pieces along Historic Route 66 celebrate the road’s importance in Flagstaff. During its heyday, signage directed travelers to nearby national parks and monuments, leading this project to adopt the same rustic “Parkitecture” design for some of these commemorative pieces using native stone. This ongoing project is also complemented by existing Route 66 signage, the ‘Walk this Talk’ interactive history recordings, and related murals such as the tarmac painting at the City of Flagstaff Visitor Center, “Mother Myth of Route 66” by Mural Mice Universal on the south exterior wall of Lumberyard Brewing Company, and “Jetsonian Optimism” by David Mullins outside the Econo Lodge. 

Estimated Completion Date: Ongoing, many elements complete by 2026 

Locations: Installations are located along the 15-plus miles of Route 66 within Flagstaff city limits such as near the I-40 Walnut Canyon exit, junction of Route 66 and Highway 89, Flagstaff Mall frontage along Route 66, I-40 Flagstaff Ranch Road exit near Historic McAllister Ranch 

Vinyl wraps transform stainless steel traffic signal cabinets on designated street intersections into works of art. Community panels recommended local and regional artists. Directed to take the location in mind, the artists determined the theme of their work with some reflecting cultural heritage and some using local symbols of beauty. The vinyl wraps are easily replaced as wear and tear occurs, and new art will cycle through as the years go on.

Completion Date: Spring 2022. Phase III anticipated to be complete in 2023/2024.

Locations: South Beaver Street and East Butler Avenue by artist Dana Kamberg, South Mall Way and East Marketplace Drive by artist Kayley Quick (pictured), and North 4th Street and East 3rd Avenue by artist Jason Gallegos

For More Information: Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Manager, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov 

In celebration of the crucial role pollinators play within a healthy ecosystem, Willow Bend Environmental Education Center plans to debut an interactive mural of a two-tailed swallowtail butterfly, Arizona’s state butterfly, at its outdoor classroom along with a little free library. The library will be stocked with educational books on pollinators, worksheets, games and more for the public, while the mural encourages people to take photos in front of it. Like Willow Bend’s outdoor gardens, this project will be accessible 24/7 and includes ADA pathways. This project is provided through a Beautification in Action Grant.

Estimated Completion Date: Fall 2022

Location: Sawmill Multicultural Art and Nature Park, 703 E. Sawmill Road, next to Willow Bend Environmental Center

For More Information: www.willowbendcenter.org