13 Works of Art... On Traffic Signal Boxes

This article was scraped from Rochester Subway. This is a blog about Rochester history and urbanism has not been published since 2017. The current owners are now publishing link spam which made me want to preserve this history.. The original article was published July 17, 2013 and can be found here.

   In 2013 I gave myself a photo assignment: Take 13 snapshots of 13 different subjects. Early on, someone suggested I do a series of traffic signal boxes - you know, the ones with the murals painted on them? At first I thought the idea was a little too obvious. I also thought many of the murals to be a little cliche. But soon I began to notice these things everywhere I looked. And then I felt like I couldn't     not    do it.

While they may not be master works of art, these murals are definitely a unique part of our landscape. Some of them are kind of folksy; some are tongue-in-cheek; and many tell a story about the neighborhood. So, with the help of my friend     Nicholas Swann

, here are 13 of our favorite murals on traffic signal boxes...

Oh, and you'll notice an extra one at the end. I've decided to paint one in my own neighborhood. You can tell me what you think...

   Basketball Kid. West Main & Genesee St.

   Paisley. Location unknown.

   Frederick Douglass and his printing press. West Main at Chili Ave. and West Ave.

   Praying for peace. Hudson and Clifford Ave.

   Believe. North Clinton and Clifford Ave.

   Puerto Rico (featuring     Cocqui

). North Clinton and Upper Falls Blvd.

   Teamwork. Avenue A and Saint Paul Street at School #8.

   American Gothic (with pooper scooper). Hudson Ave. at Irondequoit Animal Hospital.

   Unite. Mount Hope and Averill Ave.

   Break Glass In Case of Zombies. Emergency zombie station at Mount Hope and Cypress St.

   Cornhill Pictographs. Ford and Exchange Streets.

   Young Hippie. Location unknown.

   Grow Where You're Planted. By Krysia Mnick. 2007. Location unknown. Krysia's working on     a new one

now in the Park Ave neighborhood.

Now, here's my concept for a new one near an elementary school in my own neighborhood...

If you would like to paint one of these boxes, contact Thomas Cesario in the permits department at (585) 753-7711. You'll need to submit sketches of your concept (all sides including the top). If your concept is approved, you'll need to pay for the "special" paint and your own supplies. I'm told this can cost as much as $300. But contact your neighborhood association first - they may be able to help out. Go create something!

* * *

About Nicholas Swann:

Nicholas is into acting and photography. He says he recently spent a couple of years on 2 photo projects here in the city and also had a lead role in a movie filmed here, "Fritz" (to be released this fall). It'll be seen and entered in all the film festivals around the country. Nicholas thanks to Robbi Gurell for his coaching and training and says, "He brought me into the social media age." You can follow Nicholas is also an CNN iReporter.     Follow him here    , and on     Twitter    .