Historic Murals of San Angelo: Telling Story of City Through Art

SAN ANGELO, TX – The city of San Angelo is full of rich history that makes it a great place to live and in which to learn. The Historic Murals of San Angelo organization focuses on bringing that history to life for residents and visitors through vivid representation.

The idea began nearly 14.5 years ago in 1997 with help of Susan Morris, the organization’s executive director. Ms. Morris pioneered the project after realizing that downtown San Angelo needed revitalization. The murals offered the perfect medium to bring art to the city while preserving the stories that are crucial to the development of San Angelo.

“We have the buildings; we have the river downtown, and we have a lot of things going to make downtown San Angelo a special place,” Morris said.

The organization is responsible for providing San Angelo with 14 beautiful murals that illustrate a variety of topics and historical events. These murals are all created using potassium silicate mineral paint, which is imported from Germany. The paint was developed to be used specifically in the exterior decoration of buildings. Developed in the 1800s, many of the murals first painted utilized this mineral paint, which still adorns the walls of buildings all across Europe.

Yet, even with the best paint in the world, the most vital part of every mural is the artists. Their artistic abilities make the history come alive in those murals. Thus, Historic Murals of San Angelo employed the help of two great artists: Crystal Kedziora Goodman and Stylle Read. Goodman is responsible for painting nearly half of the murals, while Reed has been recently inducted into the Trail of Fame for the Fort Worth Stockyards.

While the murals form part of the cultural richness of downtown San Angelo, they appear to go unnoticed by the residents of the city. The majority of the visitors who inquire about the murals, or take advantage of the Guide by Cell feature, which provides an audio description of every mural, are from out of town. Morris has received inquiries over the years from other towns who are interested in creating similar murals in their cities.

The murals are completely dependent on the donations and contributions provided by patrons and visitors. In an effort to raise more money, Historic Murals of San Angelo is now offering the families of San Angelo the opportunity to honor their loved ones through Military Murals. Anyone who has a friend or family member who has served, or is currently serving, will have the opportunity to purchase a brick that surrounds the murals. For the cost of $250, the brick will contain the name, rank and branch of those who have served. There are currently 65 bricks left.

For more information about the murals and their stories, visit the organization’s website at www.historicmuralsofsanangelo.org, and check out all the features offered. Guide by Cell tours can be reached at 325-201-9037; corresponding codes for each mural can be found on the website. 

So for people who wish to learn about the history of San Angelo, the murals are a great way to do so. 

“They are the history of San Angelo, and people need to see them,” Morris said.