Friday, December 14, 2012

Calvin Farrar: Christmas 2012

I have covered Calvin Farrar's window art in two posts before (April 16, 2011 and October 15, 2011).  This post is dedicated to his recent work at the Bar-B-Q Shop in preparation of Christmas.

One of the first characters drawn was this waiter who is an anthropomorphized pig.

But not all pigs are human-like in this scene; a couple take the form of reindeer.

What's a winter scene without snowflakes? 
This two piggies, which are permanent fixtures, need to be dressed up a little with holiday fare.

The almost-complete product.

 A couple of days later, the artist returns to add a few more details.

Calvin's truck features a moving advertisement made especially for Christmas.

Bar-B-Q Shop owners Frank and Eric Vernon come and join Calvin for a debate of sorts...

...but an artist never rests...

Christmas 2012.



Thursday, November 22, 2012

Pole Repair 3: Repainting

The final step to repairing the poles along Madison was applying a final coat of paint.

First, a coat of grey primer was added.


One painter and six crane operators (?).


The painter paid close attention to details...



Once the primer was on, it was time for the green paint.



This one was almost complete.

Final product.


Saturday, October 27, 2012

Pole repair 2: Smoothing

The last post featured the first phase of the City's repair work of the street light roles along Madison, which involved scraping the grey paint from the poles.  This post covers the second phase: scarping the rust in preparation of the primer.



This phase is much more meticulous than the last phase. 



Saturday, September 29, 2012

Pole Repair 1: Scraping

The City of Memphis has recently undergone repair work to the various street lamp, utility and intersection poles along Madison.  Many of these poles are more than 80 years old, having once been used for the overhead catenary streetcar wires.  Needless to say, they were in dire need of rehabilitation.  The first step in this project was scraping the old grey paint off. 

Before the paint scraping could begin, the signs had to be removed from the poles.



The workers wore ventilation masks to ensure they inhaled none of the paint chips.

The sidewalks at the base of the poles were covered with plastic tarp so paint would not splatter.






Saturday, July 21, 2012

The new left turn lane

With the fairly recent addition of bike lanes along Madison, an added bonus was also provided: a left turn lane.  The ends of my block need these for those who want to turn left onto Idlewild and Auburndale, but the left turn lane in the middle of my block takes on a different roll...


This beer truck uses the left turn lane to deliver beer to the Bar-B-Q Shop.  I managed to take this photo as the driver waved to a fellow deliveryman.


M. Palazola Produce Co. uses the left turn lane for delivery to Fuel Cafe on the block next to me.

Even the police use the left turn lane for their investigations.
 

 
And when you're in trouble, the left turn lane provides a good spot to pull over.



Thursday, June 28, 2012

The McAplin gets a facelift.

The McAplin, pre-face lift.

The McAlpin Apartment House has served as the less attractive sister to the Biltmore apartment building for almost 90 years.  But she just got a little cuter with a much needed facelift.


The McAplin (foreground) and the Biltmore.  This morning shot shows the new brown color that is being added to the building's facade by its new owner who is renovating both buildings.


View from my parking lot of both buildings.
In addition to new paint on its exterior, the McAlpin's interior is being drastically rehabilitated.  Each unit contains one bedroom, one bath, a living room, a kitchen and a large walk-in closet.  Part of the renovation involves opening the kitchens to the living room.  My grandparents lived in the first floor unit on the right-hand side when they first got married.  My mom's room (as an infant) was the walk-in closet!

Once the bricks were painted, the decorative elements were addressed.  With the building being a darker color, these elements look like they did before the building was painted (see photo from 1951 here).
The color is a little darker in the afternoon sun.