While I was taking a photo of a cool old motel sign in Flagstaff, a guy on a buckskin-fringed bicycle rode up and asked me what I was doing. It’s one of the things I love about a camera…people always want to know why you’re taking a photo of whatever it’s aimed at. Sometimes they’re baffled by your interest in a commonplace sign, but mostly they’re flattered that you’re interested in something they’re interested in. That’s why artist R.E. Wall (he likes to be called R) stopped. He and Mural Mice partner Margaret Dewar (Maggie) were working on a Route 66 mural on a building across the street, and he gave me some interesting info about the area.
I didn’t know, for example, that Phoenix Avenue, where we were standing, was the original alignment for Route 66. And when it was moved a block away, to its current location, business owners on Phoenix were offered, as compensation, tall signs that could be seen from the new highway. A couple of those tall signs have survived and can, indeed, be seen from Route 66…
After years of spearheading the mural projects in Prescott, Arizona, the talented Mural Mice have been commissioned by the city of Flagstaff to create a mural of Arizona’s Route 66 attractions. They’re well into it, and should be finished by the end of the summer. Although they normally like to do community art projects, where anyone can contribute to the art, this project has more specific goals, and they’ve carefully researched their subjects. Something to look for in the finished product: Ruby, the dog, makes an appearance in all of their works!
obsessive hobbyist 