Punta Gorda has given itself the nickname of “Mural Town.” Kelly Gaylord says the reputation is not only well-deserved, it’s intentional.
“Whether you walk, bike or drive around the town of Punta Gorda, Florida, you’ll notice large murals at every turn,” Gaylord proclaimed. “They are the product of the Punta Gorda Historic Mural Society, a nonprofit started 30 years ago.”
The Society’s mission is to paint the town with history.
“Each mural captures a slice of local history, and we’re very particular about that,” Gaylord said. “It has to be history that happened here in Punta Gorda in the local area. And then we do research on it, and we give all that research, any kind of historic photos etc. to the artist and they create the actual rendering, the design of the mural.”
That research comes from a number of sources.
“So we are very fortunate to have something called the Punta Gorda History Center, and it’s actually a very large vault of a very large collection from … Vernon Peeples, who was born and raised in this area of Florida, and he collected a vast amount of local history,” Gaylord noted.
In addition to being an esteemed historian, Vernon Peeples was also an author, former state lawmaker and an integral part of the effort to create Florida Gulf Coast University.
For 13 years, Peeples provided a historical perspective on Florida through his commentary series, “Vernon’s Views” on WGCU-FM.
He died in 2015.
“We also have access, of course, to online newspapers, online collections,” added Gaylord. “There’s also another historian in town, Scott Shiveley, who is focused on the local Black history in the area, which is much harder to find.”
Over the years, Punta Gorda’s collection has grown to 31 murals, and the society is proudly part of the Florida Mural Trail. Now under the auspices of Visit Florida, the trail includes 27 cities that stretch from Miami to Tampa and then on to Jacksonville, including Venice and Fort Myers.
“Actually, the Florida Mural Trail was something that our mural society and Titusville and Lake Placid created a number of years ago, many years ago now. It was something we decided we needed to allow folks as they travel through Florida to reach out and see all these little towns around here that have murals.”
Gaylord and the Punta Gorda Historic Mural Society would love for others to see their collection. During season, they offer guided walking tours. But through the free phone app Otocast, you can visit any time of the year, rain or shine.
THE BACKGROUND:
A growing number of towns and cities across the nation are embracing community-based murals as an important adjunct to or component of their public art programs. These murals are part open-air art museum, part local history lesson and part Instagram photo opp playground. They have become the backdrops for engagement photos and Saturday- night selfies posted prolifically on social media.
In Florida, Arcadia, Bonita Springs, Brooksville, Cocoa Beach, Crescent City, Deland, Dunedin, Eustis, Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Hernando Beach, High Springs, Hollywood, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Lake Placid, Lake Wales, Melbourne, Mount Dora, Ocala, Palatka, Plant City, Punta Gorda, Quincy, St. Cloud, Sarasota, Sebring, St. Petersburg, Stuart, Tampa, Tarpon Springs, Vero Beach, Wauchula and West Palm Beach are among the Sunshine State cities and towns with active mural programs.
Lake Placid gets the nod for most prolific at 47 murals, with Sebring playing catch up with more than 30 of its own.
Fueled by its annual Fall Shine Festival, the Sunshine City, St. Petersburg, has also transformed itself into a mural town in just a few short years.
With more than 30 murals that celebrate the history of Putnam County, Palatka one-ups Punta Gorda by calling itself the “City of Murals.”
Hollywood’s Arts Park at Young Circle has garnered statewide accolades for the 21 fun and funky contemporary murals that are packed into just six square blocks, and the city of Jacksonville has roughly 20 murals concentrated in the downtown core within eyeshot of the curving banks of the St. Johns River.
To discover which towns and cities are part of the mural trail, visit https://www.visitflorida.com/travel-ideas/articles/florida-murals-trail-statewide-tour/.
To read more stories about the arts in Southwest Florida visit Tom Hall's website: SWFL Art in the News.