Recent and Current Projects
- Bonito Street Community Garden
- Downtown Connection Center
- East Flagstaff Community Library
- Flagstaff Municipal Court
- Flowers and Enhanced Landscaping in the Historic Core
- Historic Southside Community Garden
- Hope Assessment Center
- Murdoch Community Center Chess Park
- Rotary Club
- Route 66 Interpretive Trail
- Traffic Signal Cabinet Art: Phase II
- Willow Bend Environmental Education Center
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: Spring 2022
Location: Bonito Street Community Garden, 527 W. Elm St.
For More Information: Community Gardens — Terra BIRDS
The City is working with public artists Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan and Mountain Line’s design team for a new Downtown Connection Center (DCC), a hub for public transit (bus) 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, but none are yet approved, including three projects for local artists:
- Art Glass Façade for DCC Building Entry
- Rotating Crosswalk Art Across Phoenix Avenue
- Rotating Community Art at Bus Shelters
- Civic Iconic Sculpture and Gathering Place
- Interpretive plaques with art illustrations on Route 66 bridge along Phoenix Avenue that address historical neighborhood and the railroad
Estimated Completion Date: Varied. Art Glass, Fall 2023; others TBD
Location: Downtown Connection Center, West Phoenix Avenue between South Milton Road and South Mikes Pike
For More Information: Jana Weldon, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Project Administrator, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov or (928) 213-2964, 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
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.
An audio interaction is still in progress. The project will be completed with a plaque that includes a QR code that will take the viewer to a list of audio recordings that include a reading of the Wendell Berry poem, a reading of a poem selected by the Coordinator for Indigenous Initiatives, and insights into the artwork as told by the artist.
*"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 Project Administrator, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov or (928) 213-2964
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 and Southside. 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 cheer.
Estimated Completion Date: Ongoing
Location: Downtown and the Southside.
For More Information: Eliza Kretzmann, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Manager, Eliza.Kretzmann@flagstaffaz.gov or (928) 213-2969
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: Summer 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.
Estimated Completion Date: Spring/Summer 2022
Location: Coconino County Juvenile Court, 1001 E. Sawmill Road
For More Information: www.dkoyawenaarts.com and coconino.az.gov/187/Juvenile-Court
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
The Rotary Club has been a leading source of volunteerism in Flagstaff for the past 100 years, its members preserving and restoring local structures, beautifying the environment, serving those in need, and more. To pay tribute to the organization’s centennial, downtown Flagstaff will soon have a new mural by local artist Lindsey DeStefano added to the vibrant public art collection. This project is funded through a Beautification in Action Grant.
Estimated Completion Date: Spring/Summer 2022
Location: North wall of Peace Surplus, 14 W. Route 66, in the alley
For More Information: www.flagstaffrotary.com
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
For More Information: Eliza Kretzmann, Beautification, Arts & Sciences Manager, Eliza.Kretzmann@flagstaffaz.gov or (928) 213-2969
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.
Estimated Completion Date: December 2021
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 Project Administrator, Jana.Weldon@flagstaffaz.gov or (928) 213-2964
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