The service station at 1923 Poplar faces Overton Park and neighbors one of Midtown’s cultural mainstays, Memphis College of Art.
In an effort to brighten up a very visible Midtown corner, Loeb formed a partnership with MCA, and a plan was devised to paint a mural on the east-facing side of the building. Visible driving east on Poplar, the bright colors and happy message are a welcome addition to the neighborhood.
The design class put together a booklet on the project, which summarized the project this way:
We first discussed our main objectives, that the mural should be about Midtown and legible while driving down Poplar Avenue. After exploring what we thought captured the spirit of Midtown Memphis, we decided to create a survey to compare our thoughts to others. They were essentially one in the same: that Midtown is lively and blooming. After some deliberation, we felt the mural should have an upbeat Midtown message, which we wanted to portray through geometric forms and bold colors. We chose the text “Midtown is Our Memphis” to transform the original “Midtown is Memphis” expression from an exclusive phrase into an inclusive one.
