“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air,” wrote poet Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The lightning rod-like communications tower piercing the sky above Anna Maria City Hall is one step closer to putting on a poetic face.
Anna Maria Cell Tower Art Committee chair Karen Beach presented mural panels designed to go around the elevated platform at the base of the cell tower Dec. 10 to the city commission.
The mural, which will cover two sides of the platform, will be 12 by 50 feet and 12 by 32 feet.
The design includes photos of the city’s beaches by photographer Cathy Tobias and takes liberty with a quote from Emerson.
“The problem presented to us,” said Beach, “was to cover up the Erector set-style base of the cell tower.”
The commission unanimously approved the design.
Mayor Dan Murphy brought together artists Beach, Joan Voyles and Janet Kingan, to form an art committee to create the mural.
Florida Tower Partners, the company that built the cell tower, will pay for the creation, installation and replacement of the mural.
The installation hasn’t been scheduled.
— Tal Reeve
