News Photo: Steve Shullwitz This new mural at PIF Cider in Alpena features colorful art that incorporates caricatures of human faces. The mural also includes motivational quotes.
ALPENA — It’s hard to walk through Alpena and Rogers City without noticing murals that are big, colorful and original.
More artworks are expected to appear in both communities’ downtowns in the coming months and years, which local officials say should help boost tourism and make small businesses more profitable.
Murals can also help liven up a bland or unattractive building and make an area more aesthetically appealing.
There are 28 murals in and around downtown Alpena, most of which are within walking distance. Alpena Downtown Development Director Ann Gentry said as the number of murals grows, so does interest in them. She said Alpena has become a destination for people who come for the murals and all things mural-related.
“People have been asking if there would be a map of the murals so they could walk around and see them all,” she said, “and it helps beautify the area, bring life back to downtown, and take some of the blank walls that need work and turn them into something beautiful.”
News photo by Steve Shullwitz This mural behind the Alpena store Rusty Petunia adds a splash of glamour to the alley behind Alpena’s popular shopping area.
The mural map is expected to be unveiled by the end of this month.
This summer, Rogers City hosted its first-ever Murals on Main festival, where artists created new murals across the city while locals and tourists celebrated.
Katie Carignan, fundraising chair for the event, said the event has been well-received and plans are already in motion to hold it again next year from June 9 to 15. Carignan said since the mural was painted, it has become popular among Presque Isle County residents and those choosing Rogers City as a tourist destination, and it has also increased foot traffic to the town’s local small business stores.
“After the mural festival, it felt like the town was a little more lively. I talked to some local small business owners and they said people were coming to see the murals,” Carignan said. “I think the town feels more exciting, more vibrant and like there are good things happening.”
Carignan said plans for more murals are already underway, with details to be announced in the coming days.
News photo by Steve Shullwitz This new mural in Alpena is located in an alley between 2nd and 1st streets. It features many native animals of Northeast Michigan.
Many of the murals in downtown Alpena were commissioned through the Fresh Wave Project, Gentry said. He said the effort will continue as long as businesses and property owners remain interested and involved. Eventually, Gentry said, space for new murals will be an issue, but when that happens, the older murals will be touched up or painted over with new ones.
“Not every mural will appeal to everyone because they are all different styles, themes and content, and that’s the point,” she said. “Some murals are abstract and subjective, others are more to the point and represent where we live and our connections to that place. We want a variety of styles, a variety of themes.”
Alpena will get another mural this year when a Hawaiian artist begins painting a mural today on an office building across from the Dairy Queen on Chisholm Street.
Gentry said next year the DDA hopes to paint a mural on the outskirts of downtown, either on Chisholm Street or further down Second Avenue. She said the goal is to clean up the new DDA expansion area and the mural will help achieve that while also making it an easy walk for anyone who wants to take a look around at the murals.
News photo by Steve Shullwitz Shala gas station in Alpena isn’t part of the downtown area, but the store features a mural depicting a welder at work with sparks flying all around him.
News photo by Steve Shullwitz One of Alpena’s newest murals is located at Clem’s Bait and Tackle.
Photo courtesy of Anna Charney of Denver, Colorado, stands in front of a large mural she created in Rogers City. Mural Festival organizers say they plan to create even more murals next year.
Photo courtesy of Cory Budnick State Farm This mural of a child playing with a toy sailboat is located on a building at Cory Budnick State Farm.
Photo courtesy of Lighthouse Restaurant This large mural in the parking lot of the restaurant features a large salmon and a cargo ship. Both fish and ships are important parts of Rogers City’s identity.
Photo credit: This mural in Rogers City has a tropical theme that covers an entire large building. People come to Rogers City to see the new artwork.
Credit: Art Rogers City’s Rachel Klein painted this mural, which covers all four sides of this small building.
Credit: Art Rogers City’s Rachel Klein painted this mural, which covers all four sides of this small building.
Credit: Art Rogers City’s Rachel Klein painted this mural, which covers all four sides of this small building.
Credit: Art Rogers City’s Rachel Klein painted this mural, which covers all four sides of this small building.
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