Parking at the Courthouse: A Ceramic Tile Mural in the Tampa Public Art Collection

This is the right side of a mural that stretches 145-feet along the south-facing wall of the Tampa Police Department Parking Garage. (It is on Kennedy Boulevard between Florida Avenue and Franklin Street.) Although the location is in the heart of downtown, and right across from the Tampa City Hall, it is not easily seen (or photographed.) The wall is back off the street and hidden in shadow most of the day. Benches stand in rows along its entire length. That said, the mural,named Parking at the Courthouse by the artist Mike Mandel, is well worth finding. The best part of his creation, which is part of the Tampa Public Art Collection, is that it was made entirely of ceramic tiles. From one end to the other it rises from 9 1/2’ to 15’ and is comprised of a mosaic of historic photographs created with thousands of small colored tiles. Because this was the site of the grand, domed Hillsborough County Courthouse that was built in 1892 - and designed by J. A. Wood, the architect of Henry B. Plant’s Tampa Bay Hotel – the main scene is of the courthouse (which sadly was demolished years ago). Other photographs that are represented in tile include uniformed Tampa Police officers standing beside their 1959-60 police squad car, a courtroom scene from 1927, and a 1920s photo of the Eli Witt Cigar Company with the brand slogans Won’t You Hav-A-Tampa Cigar and Tampa Nuggets emblazoned on a delivery truck and wall. The artist used the intricate Victorian arches that you can see to frame and divide the scenes. His reference for the design of the arches came from the original Tampa Bay Hotel (which I have posted photographs of several times HERE and is today home to the University of Tampa and the Henry B. Plant Museum.) If you ever find yourself with business at City Hall or you’re on your way to lunch at a restaurant nearby on Franklin Street, be sure and find Parking at the Courthouse, Mike Mandel’s artwork of ceramic tiles and enjoy a truly unique installation celebrating the history of Tampa.