Heroes Plaza Mural - El Reno, Oklahoma
N 35° 32.000 W 097° 57.170
14S E 594933 N 3932694
Of all the El Reno murals, this one will leave you the most breathless! It depicts a military funeral in Arlington National Cemetery on the side of the wall facing the parking lot for Heroes Plaza.
Waymark Code: WMENTC
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 06/20/2012
Views: 9
As it says in the Quick Description, this one will leave you breathless or with a tear in your eye, or perhaps both. The plaza is located at the northwest corner of N Rockford Ave. & E. Woodson in downtown El Reno. If you park in the lot off of N. Rockford Ave., this is the first thing you'll see besides the statue which extends above the wall.
I can't begin to give you the size, except to say that the wall runs almost the entire width of a city block and the mural covers every speck of it. Most of it is covered by the white headstones, row on row. To the far right of the large mid-section is the actual military funeral, depicting the folding of the Americna flag before the coffin is lowered into the ground. To the far left of this panel, just to the right of the gate leading to the front of the plaza, is a bugler playing "Taps." The middle of the mural is broken by the aforementioned open gateway. To the far left of the left panel is a military honor guard preparing to fire a 21-gun salute. Turn the corner to the left and the entire panel is covered by a magnificent "riderless horse." It is spring in the painting because a redbud (one of Oklahoma's favorite trees) is in bloom.
The rest of the plaza is just as moving and inspiring; it represents the best of small-town America. It was dedicated on July 4, 2000. The front of the mural;s brick wall is covered with typical, but quite artistic memorial bricks dedicated to veterans, other individuals, organizations, companies, etc. Within the plaza are individual monuments dedicated to the various wars in which America has fought during the 20th and 21st Centuries. On each are the names of those from Canadian County who died in action.
The plaza was a group effort, apparently spearheaded by the City of El Reno, the El Reno Chamber of Commerce, Canadian County, and all of the El Reno veterans' groups (American Legion, DAV, etc.). The plaza was designed by Charlie Beecham, an El Reno resident and himself an Air Force veteran. He also designed the Jesse Reno statue (waymark WMEMY5) and the Historic El Reno mural (waymark WM5BKT).
City: El Reno
Location Name: Heroes Plaza
Artist: Designer: Charlie Beecham
Date: 4/4/2000
Media: Paint on plaster over bricks
Relevant Web Site: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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