City using murals to liven up downtown - Temple, TX - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

The bright-red banner depicts a colorful portrait of King next to the quote in white lettering: “Faith is taking the first step even when you cannot see the stairs.”

The mural was designed by College Station artist Charles Wallis and was commissioned by Discover Downtown and the Temple Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The mural cost about $850 and was installed Tuesday on the east side of the Central Texas Workforce Center building at 102 E. Central Ave. The design was printed on a thin sheet of recyclable aluminum and installed by Temple printing company Fast Signs.

“It adheres into every groove of that wall, so it looks like it’s painted on, but it’s really not,” Downtown Development Coordinator Sherri Street said.

Street said the art itself makes downtown more aesthetically pleasing, but the quote is also indicative of the downtown redevelopment efforts.

“We wanted some more art downtown, but we wanted it to be significant art,” she said. “It shows what downtown feels like right now. Taking that step even when you don’t see the stairs is what’s happening right now.”

Wallis, a Waco native who has had his work featured in galleries across the state, said public art has a way of giving life to deserted areas in a community.

“It helps draw people to the city and it also helps other people become interested in opening closed buildings and revitalizing downtown,” Wallis said. “When people see something happen on a building that might have been blighted and they see something brighten it up, it makes them feel good about their downtown area.”

Street said the city commissioned Wallis to create several more murals which will be installed at later dates. She also hopes to bring other forms of art to the area.

“I personally want to do a word garden. I want rocks with words on them so people can make sentences or poems if they want,” she said.