What's with the big downtown mural project?
Monkeys and donkeys and penguins, oh my! You cant really see them  yet. But if you stare at the Lindemann Parking Garage long enough  and squint your eyes just right  you might imagine what it will look like someday. Plans are moving forward on placing a huge mural on the pillar at the northeast corner of the structure at Seventh Street and Indiana Avenue. Were in a little bit of a holding pattern, but were still moving forward. We still believe well be able to finish it by the end of this year if not early 2022, said Ann Arnold-Ogden, associate executive director of the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture. We are looking at some repairs that need to be made  not structurally  but just so there isnt any damage to the mural. We hired an engineering firm in May to take a look at the wall and provide recommendations, so weve presented those to the city and were waiting on the next step. she said. The alliance launched its plan for the mural in September 2019, which is to be funded through grants. We have received grants totaling over $30,000. I think it will be slightly more than that, Arnold-Ogden said. She said $10,000 has come from the citys 4B Economic Development Corporation while other money has come from the state, the National Endowment for the Arts and private donors. The mural, planned for a pillar that encloses a stairwell in the garage, will depict colorful animals stacked atop each other. It is animals working together to hang the moon to show that when we work together as a community anything is possible, Arnold-Ogden said. The design was created by artists Jesse Baggett and Steve Hilton. Baggett, a former high school art teacher, specializes in painting and ceramic sculpture and likes wildlife imagery. Hilton teaches ceramics and art at Midwestern State University and has had his works displayed at universities and museums. Also involved in the project is Chrysa Jacobs, a fines arts graduate at MSU. The tower of larger-than-life creatures includes a Panda, a rabbit, a Flamengo, wild birds and  perhaps most implausibly  an elephant supporting a donkey. The biggest animal is the building, which has become something of a white elephant itself. It passed from private hands to Wichita County and then to the city, which saw a potential revenue stream from leasing parking spaces. So far, paying customers are few. The county uses it for a few vehicles and the city has opened it to free parking during large downtown events.