Downtown’s Marshall Street is becoming ‘mural central.’ The grandmother of them all, the magnificent ‘Once in a Millennium Moon’ faces the 700 block of Marshall Street and beckons motorists on Interstate 20 to come and take photographs while passing through.
Courtesy Twin Blends, LLC.
More recently, muralist Ka’Davien Baylor and a group of Shreveport artists painted ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ on the side of 1533 Marshall Street. Property owner Ryan Williams says he is eager to add more art to the side of his new club at 1605 Marshall St.
The newest mural to come to the street is on the side of the small building called the Shreveport News Agency at 1122 Marshall St., owned by Caddo Parish Commissioner Mario Chavez and once home to Pokemon Go character Pinkachu.
Pinkachu on 1122 Marshall St.
“I had the character with his smart phone painted on the building because there were so many kids walking by playing Pokemon when we first bought the building,” says Chavez. Now, Pokemon Go has calmed down and Chavez’ life has taken him in another direction.
The newest mural by painter Chris Opp is a stylized look at Shreveport that blends a variety of buildings and skylines from the city into one. The skyline is sitting on a Bible, which Chavez calls the ‘rock’ and foundation. He plans to add Psalms 127:1 to the mural, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.”
The skyline will also be an homage to the customers of his company, Mersatech, a company that creates mobile apps and provides merchant services. Businesses such as Ernest’s Supper Club, Herby-K’s and others will be highlighted, as will the Bakowski Bridge of Lights. The mural should be finished by January 5, 2022.
It will be the latest in an art-filled stretch of street that will soon feature yet another amazing and colorful mural under the Interstate 20 bridge. More to come on that soon!
