Design Award
Murals at 22nd & Walnut Streets
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Design Firm
Susan Maxman & Partners and Michael Webb (artist)
Client
The Sun Oil Company, Inc.
Design Team
Jeffrey C. Hayes, Michael Webb
Photographer
Tom Crane
Fabricators
Michael Webb (painter)
As part of the renovations to an existing service station, Sunoco commissioned Susan Maxman & Partners and artist Michael Webb to design murals for the end walls of two rowhouses adjoining the property. The problem was to transform the graffiti-covered walls into a visually exciting but subtle depiction of the historic neighborhood. Research revealed that St. James Episcopal Church, designed by Fraser, Furness and Hewitt, occupied the site in 1870 and stimulated construction of the elaborate townhouses nearby. The murals allude to this rich architectural heritage though the reflection and cast shadow of the church and the trompe l'oeil depiction of nineteenth and early twentieth century industrial buildings and row houses. Sunoco incorporated the project into its anti-graffiti program and hopes to install similar works at other gas stations.