Whistle Stop Mural - Murals on Waymarking.com

PLANT CITY - Whistle Stop Mural
For more than three decades, their ever-smiling faces have welcomed everyone who came to Plant City's historic downtown.
No hurricane or rainy day could take away their sunshine. Not even a devastating fire.
But the future of this mural of children playing and adults laughing hung in the balance as a demolition crew stood by, waiting to tear it down.
The detailed painting was almost all that remained after a fire damaged the heart of Plant City's downtown historic district,
"I felt like we probably had done all we could do," said Plant City Mayor Michael Sparkman.
Then, in the eleventh hour, a reprieve.
About the time the mural was scheduled to be demolished, Sparkman said the property owner agreed to sell it to a group of local business people.
Sparkman said the negotiations were led by developer David Hawthorne, who owns one of the burned buildings.
Sparkman didn't give details on the agreement or how much Hawthorne's group would pay for the property.
The mural stands on the south side of the damaged city block, at E Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and S Collins Street.
It was painted by local artist John Briggs in 1974. Among other things, it shows a train coming into town, a significant part of the development of this community known for its agriculture.
On the north side of the block, just past the Whistle Stop, is a real-life CSX train.
The damage to this piece of Plant City heritage has been blamed on the ex-girlfriend of the owner of an electronics store where the blaze began Feb. 21.
Angelica Ruth Lockett was charged with seven counts of arson in connection with the downtown blaze. The fire caused $3-million in losses and damage to seven businesses, according to the state Fire Marshal's Office.
Lockett, of Plant City, recently separated from the Mark Electronics store owner, Mark Simpson. Investigators say she entered the store, walked into a back room where Simpson had been sleeping on a makeshift bed and threw a lit cigarette on quilts on top of the bed. Lockett later confessed, investigators said.
Sparkman said the mural is too fragile to be moved. He had expressed an interest early on in relocating it, but realizes now he can't. He said a group of engineers will come and study the wall and figure out a way to support it.
Published: February 8, 2008

PLANT CITY - A part of the history of Plant City came tumbling down this morning.

A mural painted in the mid-1970s by local artist John Briggs was demolished by crews using heavy equipment. The mural was on a wall that was about the only thing left standing in a fire that destroyed nearly a block of buildings in 2005 on Collins Street. A city demolition permit was issued Thursday to property owner Dennis Spurlock.

City Manager David Sollenberger said the wall didn't have any historical designation or other protection and the city was obligated to issue the permit. He said Spurlock was within his rights to ask for the demolition, performed by Johnson's Excavation. Sollenberger said he heard there were some safety concerns about the wall, which was propped up with braces after the fire.

The mural, at Collins and Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Boulevard, depicted a train and downtown buildings.

Shelby Bender, president of the East Hillsborough Historical Society, said she was upset that the mural was taken down.

The wall was nearly torn down after the fire. The city intervened to save it and discussed the possibility of developing a small park at the location.

Briggs said he painted the mural in part to help celebrate America's 1976 bicentennial. Briggs said he took his inspiration for the mural from the fact that Plant City once was one of the biggest rail shipping centers in the Southeast.

He said he was told by city officials a few months ago that they thought the mural likely would be demolished, possibly for safety reasons.
Feb,9,2008
Briggs said he learned of the mural's destruction about 8 a.m. today.

City: Plant City Location Name: Wall Artist: John Briggs Date: 1974 Media: Not listed Relevant Web Site: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and description of your visit. One original photo of the mural must also be submitted. GPSr photo NOT required.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   06/30/2008 NeoGeo321 visited it 02/09/2008 ScaredOfBees wrote comment for it 02/09/2008 Smiling Little Perch wrote comment for it 08/09/2007 sfwife visited it 07/10/2007 Old Bass Cacher visited it 07/10/2007 Smiling Little Perch visited it

View all visits/logs