Continuing with the five-part series on murals, this post focuses on the Downtown Clearwater area. For this post’s purpose, Downtown is from Drew Street on the north to Court Street on the south, and from the bluff walkway on the west to Missouri Avenue to the east. The subsequent post will focus on the Eastern Gateway area, which is beyond the downtown area.
Like the infamous Clearwater Beach postcard mural, Downtown also has a spelled-out Clearwater mural, located at the back of Hispania Tapas Bar & Cafe at 34 North Fort Harrison Avenue.
Comunidad is a celebration of cultural diversity, and shows empowered women to represent diversity and unity. The mural was painted by Camilo Núñez and Florencia Durán of Uruguay on the Garden Street parking garage across from the Bank of America building . The painting of the mural can be viewed here.
You may have noticed the hashtags painted on the bottom of two or the murals: #MuralsOfClearwater and #DowntownClearwater.
Elysian Days, located at 512 Cleveland Street, was inspired by the rainforest and the transformative power of nature. Artist Cecilia Lueza softened and enlightened a blank wall with bright colors and shapes found in the natural world. See an interview with Lueza here.
The next flowery garden mural is located on the corner of Cleveland Street and appropriately, Garden Avenue. The mural titled Avenue Du Jardin Mural was dedicated in October, 3 2002 to the citizens of Clearwater, FL.
The mural was later restored by artist Ana Livingston.
The next mural, pictures the Scranton Arcade. It’s located at Cleveland Street and South East Avenue and depicts some of the history of the area.
This colorful flamingo mural is located at the Pro Shop Pub at 840 Cleveland Street on the corner of Prospect Avenue.
The final Downtown mural is titled One Hundred Years Before by J. Cole, is located at 620 Drew Street and painted on the side of Creative Contractors Inc. Husband and wife team Michelle Sawyer and Tony Krol of Illsol were inspired by the history of the region. The Orange Belt Railway, a narrow-gauge railway that cut through citrus groves, was founded in 1885. The safety bicycle (modern bicycle design) was also placed into production that same year. Today, the route of the Orange Belt Railway is the Pinellas Trail, and is used mostly by bicycles.
Do you know of any more murals? Let me know at kellyshannonkelly@yahoo.com.
Check out the other parts of the series:
Magnificent Murals – Clearwater Beach
Magnificent Murals – East Shore Resort
The Making of the Clearwater Beach Welcome Mural
