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JULY 2009
A celebration of America—and San Angelo
Downtown Art Walk features set trolley stops
DSA bids farewell to Del Velasquez
Downtown outdoor movies featured
Painting generation to generation
Texas Monthly Recognizes Miss Hattie’s Café
A celebration of America—and San Angelo
By Lucie Hofheins
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The 2009 July 3rd Pops extravaganza took on a very special personal significance for me as my family has just located to San Angelo. My 6 year old grandson was especially delighted by the program as he whispered to his Papa “this is so cool” and my usually skeptical daughter stated that this was the first 4th of July celebration she has attended that felt really patriotic. She has just begun to experience what this distinctive community of San Angelo has to offer.
Sponsored by Multi-Chem, this annual event draws over 30,000 attendees and offers a multitude of entertaining and inspiring moments. The San Angelo Community Band made up of local musicians are first to start the evening off with well-known American tunes. As the sun begins to set, the San Angelo Symphony, under the direction of Hector Guzman, filled the air with magnificent renditions of American patriotic favorite melodies. “I am an American” was narrated by Sonny Cleere and Dr. Kate Carr, soloist lent her voice to the event. Jay Michaels served as Master of Ceremonies throughout the evening.
Downtown San Angelo’s Executive Director, Del Velasquez , served as the overall Committee Chair. A significant number of volunteers and organizations lent their support to this ever popular annual event. Even the spectators joined in by waving small American flags which were provided by the event coordinators.
If you have never been to a San Angelo July Pops Celebration you need to plan on attending the 2010 presentation. I can assure you—you won’t be disappointed.
Downtown Art Walk features set trolley stops
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The 3rd Thursday of the month Art Walk now features set trolley
stops for all participants. Just look for signs posted at each stop. Art
Walk guests can also acquire maps (trolley and art walk map) when
boarding or exiting the trolley or on our Web site:
downtownsanangelo.com
Art Walk schedule for 2009: August 20, September 17, October 15, November 19 and December 17.
Downtown park offers respite
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City Park
Established: 1903
Revitalized: 2009
City of San Angelo Parks Dept.
In early 2009, the City of San Angelo revealed the revamped
City Park located in the 200 Block of Madison and W. Twohig streets. This neighborhood park initially established
in 1903 now offers the following amenities:
- Lighted Crochet Court
- 3 Lighted Horseshoe Courts
- 1 Volleyball Court
- 2 Grills
- 8 Picnic tables
- 1 Public Restroom
- .29 Miles of Sidewalk
- and more
DSA bids farewell to Del Velasquez
 Del admires his new gift. |
By Lucie Hofheins
Del Velasquez ended his term as Downtown San Angelo, Inc.’s executive director on July 10. Dedicating the last two years to the revitalizing and preservation of downtown San Angelo, Velasquez has decided to spend some quality time with his family and close friends.
The DSA Board of Directors hosted a farewell gathering at Fuentes Café Downtown on Wednesday, July 8. Expressions of appreciation for his service to the DSA Organization were offered. Additionally, those in attendance offered best wishes to Del as he moves on to his next exciting activity.
Del expressed his thanks to the Board of Directors and especially Lee Pfluger and Bob Stribling for their support and guidance. Del vowed to continue to support the downtown Main Street effort and the economic development of San Angelo.
DSA presented a stained glass state of Texas panel to Del. The piece was designed by Mary Valva, owner/operator of the Glass Prism and featured a Texas star and signified Del’s period of service.
Ranching Mural Dedicated
By Lucie Hofheins
The “Ranching Mural” located at the intersection of Beauregard and Randolph on the side of Bill’s Man Shop, has been completed. This 20’ by 107’ depiction illustrates the West Texas ranching industry as it was in the ’20s and ’30s. The many facets of this attraction are the result of many hours of research and took many steps in planning in order to accurately record ranching history.
- In early August 2008, Historic Murals of San Angelo’s Executive Director Susan Morris and Chairman of the Board Roger Blocker met with major donors to discuss preliminary plans for the Ranching Mural
- Muralists were contacted to submit design sketches for the Board to review.
- Two sketches were received and Stylle Read’s sketch was selected by the Board.
- A dinner at Miss Hattie’s was held in September and all major ranchers were invited to “Meet the Artist” and view the
sketch. - Historic Murals of San Angelo (HMSA) began raising additional funds in January via ad sales for the annual Domino and
Mah Jongg Games. - Swain Plaster was contracted to prepare a smooth surface on the wall.
- In March, Read arrived in San Angelo to began work on the largest downtown mural to date.
- In April, the Domino Tournament and Mah Jongg games were conducted supplying additional funds for this undertaking.
- Read completed painting the mural in June and a dedication was held on June 24 which featured a reception at the Black Swan Gallery, owned and operated by Sue Daniel.
Throughout the process of drafting the unique wall painting, Read continued to research the subject of West Texas ranching in the ’20s and ’30s. The original Shearing Truck can be found at the Barrows Museum just outside of Millerville. Read took pictures used to duplicate the original truck. The Model-T was taken from photographs of a perfectly restored model in Cleburne. In order to depict the Hereford cattle accurately, Stylle drove to one of the mural donor’s ranch in Ft. McCavett to eye the cattle face to face. Upon his return, he commented “the only difference he could see between the ones on the ranch and his cows was the ones on the ranch had dirty faces.”
The Sheep shearing is taken from actual pictures of shearing methods and includes original shearers from the period. Signs and
labels are and even the smallest detail are historically correct and represent how things were done in the early 20th century.
About the Artist
Stylle Read, renowned muralist, has been producing his works of art for more than 20 years. Born in Lufkin, Texas then moving on to Tyler and Fort Worth, he now resides in the dusty outskirts of Cleburne. Having painted murals from Arkansas to the Big Bend along Hwy. 67, he refers to himself as the “Highway 67 Painter.” He has also done many works in other states and has many of his designs on display both inside buildings and on exterior walls. You can visit his Web site at: stylleread.com
Visit the Historic Murals of San Angelo Web site where you can click on each mural to hear a live voice providing each of the murals history.
Mural Statistics
- Used Potassium Silicate Mineral paint which is UV Ray resistant, will not fade, crack, or peel. It is also environmentally friendly
- The Ranching Mural is 20’ high and 107’ wide
- Historically accurate depiction of West Texas Ranching during the 1920s & 1930s
Executive officers: Historic Murals of San Angelo
Susan Morris: Executive Director
Secretary & Historian: Marilyn Ross
Co-Chairs: Roger Blocker & Pat Logan
Treasurer: Lucie Hofheins
Downtown outdoor movies featured
By Lucie Hofheins
Sponsored by KCSA Radio, Downtown San Angelo, Inc. and the San Angelo Cultural Affairs Council, downtown San Angelo is now featuring free outdoor movies at the parking lot located between Miss Hattie’s Café and the Cactus Hotel. Over the Memorial Day weekend viewers were treated to three epic films honoring American Veterans:
- May 22 Sergeant York starring Gary Cooper
- May 23 Operation Petticoat starring Cary Grant & Tony Curtis
- May 24 The Green Berets starring John Wayne
Approximately 300 guests attended the three-night presentation. American flags were distributed to the youngsters and all kinds of delectable treats were made available.
The June Movie schedule offered something for kids of all ages. The movie “Shrek” attracted over 200 moviegoers. Shrieks of laughter were plentiful throughout the evening. Cindy Jordan and Kelli Henson provided pre-movie entertainment.
July’s features included:
- July 10 Kelly’s Heroes starring Clint Eastwood and Telly
Savalas - July 17 Blue Hawaii starring Elvis Presley
- July 24 Double Feature: Back to the Future and Rocky Horror Picture Show
- July 31 Funny Girl starring Barbara Streisand
Visit the downtownmovienight.com Web site for future movie schedules and special appearances. Information on the downtown movie features can also be obtained by calling: 655-6565
San Angelo public art
On May 13, the Public Arts Commission dedicated a sculpture “The Wise Old Owl” and honored the artist, Scott Sustek. The ceremony was held at the Sunken Garden Park at the corner of South Abe Street and West Avenue D.
This is the first of three Art Spots selected by the San Angelo Public Arts Commission (SAPAC) for the purpose of providing areas to display works of art which have temporarily loaned to the city of San Angelo.
The SAPAC serves as an advisory board to the city regarding the selection and placement of art on city-owned property. Among the projects reviewed by this group is the placement of Downtown San Angelo, Inc.’s Sheep Art Projects, part of DSA’s Sheep Spectacular promotions.
About the Artist:
Scott Sustek, a former math and science teacher, learned to sculpt in Austin. Serving as the former director of the Austin Sculpture Center and teaching sculpting at the Austin Museum of Art, Sustek works in bronze, clay & stone. One of his most recent projects is a life-size bronze sculpture of former-First Lady Laura Bush, which will be on display in front of the Laura Bush Library in Austin.
Painting generation to generation
 Laura paints the underbelly of “Welcoming Ewe” |
By Crystal Goodman, Muralist
The painted sheep—have you seen them? If you have driven around San Angelo, then you can’t help but see at last one sheep somewhere! They are so colorful, unique and full of personality. Some are simple yet distinctive, others are exceptional creative inspiration and most all of the sheep originated through talents of local San Angelo artists.
The one I wish to tell you about is “Welcome Ewe” at the San Angelo Visitor’s Center located at 418 W. Avenue B. The sheep is located along the Concho River just behind the building. “Welcoming Ewe” is painted in a bright orange sundress with a floral pattern. She carries her purse with some postcards of San Angelo and other items a tourist might use. There is a camera and, yes, some mice, which are a fun signature of mine. What makes this sheep so special to me is who helped me to paint it. My granddaughter, Laura, only 4 years old at the time, has been my “artist assistant” for many art projects. If you look closely at the Chadbourne Street Mural, located at the corner of Chadbourne and Concho Avenue, on the lower right side you can see Laura’s, her great-grandmother’s and my handprints painted into that mural. Laura, (age three at the time) did lots of the “dirt” painting on the mural. She feverishly slashed the paint brush from side to side for about 45 minutes until her mother finally had to coax her away for lunch.
On the tourist sheep Laura assisted me with some very rough wiggly lines that she said makes the sheep’s fur. She worked very hard trying to make those curly wiggly lines with her special brush and each stroke reminds me of how great a time we had those few days. I asked her to paint the under belly of the sheep too and we put a pillow on the floor which she laid down on and painted the belly very carefully as not to drop paint all over her face. Have you ever tried to paint upside down? With each brush stroke she would ask me “Does that look good Meme?” I would bend over almost be completely upside down to look at what she had painted and each time I would tell her it looked excellent! She would grin from ear to ear. I was never sure if me telling her what an excellent job she was doing or the fact that all the blood was rushing to my race each time was what made her grin the most.
Laura has since move to the coast and I only get to see her once in awhile, but I hope she will never forget those few days we spent painting together in San Angelo. I hope I helped build her self esteem and I would never in a million years have gone back over her wiggly scraggly lines of our sheep fur to make them better because to me she is perfect—Laura is the sheep!
Texas Monthly recognizes Miss Hattie’s Café
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Miss Hattie’s Café was selected for serving one of the 50 best hamburgers in Texas. This distinction was made by Texas Monthly in their August edition and compliments owner, Brenda Gunter and her staff. The publication has also provided the San Angelo establishment with a certificate proclaiming this very special recognition. Pick up a copy of August’s Texas Monthly for further details.
Committees move forward
by Lucie Hofheins
Design:
Wayfinding: Downtown San Angelo, Inc.’s Design Committee, chaired by Brenda Gunter, the city of San Angelo, the San Angelo Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, Angelo State University, Texas Department of Transportation, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, and other local groups are coordinating to develop a wayfinding design for San Angelo. Downtown San Angelo representation will concentrate on unique wayfinding options for the downtown area. A design consultant was contracted to assist the assembly.
Streetscaping: As a result of the Action Plan developed by the Visionaries in Preservation and San Angelo historic preservation groups which include Downtown San Angelo, Inc., Texas Tech Landscape Architecture students under the direction of Larry Sullivan, Professor, initiated creation of exclusive design plans for a uniformly landscaped walkway to connect Fort Concho, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, and the downtown San Angelo area. Texas Tech University College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources
Economic Restructuring:
Information Seminars: Angelo State University’s Small Business Development Center conducted a marketing seminar on July 31. The seminar addressed downtown businesses and provided merchants with effective marketing tools and customer satisfaction initiatives.
ASU representatives:
Pedro Ramirez, Small Business Development Specialist, & CBA 1
Peggy Hodges, Small Business Development Specialist
Grace Garcia, Training Coordinator Small Business Development Center
Small Business Development Specialist Pedro Ramirez presented a Web site design seminar on Tuesday, May 19 in the Cactus Hotel 2nd floor meeting room. Attendees were provided information regarding a well designed and effective Web site to enhance their business. Many good options as well as do’s & don’ts of Web site design were discussed.
Facades Grants:
 Master’s Cabinet shop and neighboring buildings before restoration. |
 Master’s Cabinet shop and neighboring buildings before restoration. |
Promotions:
Third Thursday Art Walk: The June 2009 Art Walk was very successful. Thanks to the efforts of Lee Pfluger, the trolley scheduling was notable. With the assistance of DSA staff, a trolley stop schedule was formulated. Signs were posted at each designated trolley stop along with arrival and departure time. Pfluger rode the trolley throughout the evening and insured that all was right on schedule. Lucie Hofheins and served as Art Walk Tour Guide on the trolley. Art walk participant feedback was very positive.
Organization:
Membership: DSA Board of Directors selected two days in February to carry out the annual membership drive. This fundraising event has been developed to increase city-wide community participation. The annual membership drive includes renewals and solicitation of new membership. DSA membership includes the downtown area, but also encompasses a variety of personal and business representatives city-wide. Program year 2009 reflects 70 new members gained. DSA staff is committed to continue the acquisition of membership throughout the year.
DSA Presenter Program: This program has been developed to enlist DSA Board members to address other San Angelo organizations on DSA activities and promote partnerships. In addition, a quarterly meeting is scheduled later in the year to advise members on progress made.
Economic development
As a Main Street City, part of the Downtown San Angelo, Inc. strategy is the economic development of San Angelo, and more specifically the downtown area. To successfully achieve economic development goals, overall guiding principles are required.
The ultimate goal of a substantial economic development program is increased per capita income levels of local residents. To achieve this goal a framework of support is essential. Businesses and communities represented by groups such as the chamber of commerce, economic development corporations, and the city of San Angelo, etc. makeup a solid footing. Next are the necessities; quality workers, good schools, efficient infrastructure, suitable building sites and community amenities. Additionally, partnering of groups dedicated to economic development principles brings all related concerns to the table.
Interested corporations require motivation. Incentives provide added value when used in a manner designed to maximize return on investment. Incentive justification should be on a cost-benefit basis.
The most effective incentives focus on bringing in activity to provide principal jobs and investment that make outside funds available. By carefully and objectively assessing individual strengths and weaknesses the community can target a collection which provides the greatest probability of success. The ideal incentive package offers peak points to attract new movement while also offering the community a fitting return on its investment.
Providing a positive impact, the locality should be prepared to aggressively provide concrete infrastructure, public education, workforce training, key elements of business climate regarding favorable regulatory environment and fair and efficient tax structure. Also in the mix is maintaining state and local incentives and ensuring public resources are properly utilized.
What would you like to see in the way of economic development in the downtown San Angelo area? Downtown San Angelo is interested in your vision for downtown. E-mail Lucie Hofheins at LEH@dtsa.org
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