El Paso, TX (KFOX14/CBS4) — A new set of murals is giving the El Paso Fire Department’s downtown station a fresh look — and a public tribute to the firefighters who serve the city.
El Paso muralist Babak Tavakoli painted five murals on 30-foot walls at the fire station on South Florence Street. Tavakoli said the department asked that its special teams be represented throughout the artwork.
El Paso Fire Department told Babak they wanted the murals to represent each of the special teams at EPFD. Like the flood team. (KFOX14/CBS4)
“They wanted all of their special teams represented in this mural and various parts. So that’s really what it is, is like each team and what they do and kind of in an artistic way, put it on the wall,” Tavakoli said. “I want to make sure that whenever you’re looking at these scenes, you know, oh, you’re in El Paso.”
Tavakoli said he worked local elements into the murals, including “local wildlife, local scenery, landmarks,” aiming for details that “are not too cliche but definitely clue you in. This is El Paso.”
This mural depicts local El Paso wildlife on fire. (KFOX14/CBS4)
He also said the project was meant to honor firefighters and their work.
“I really admire what the firefighters do. I think it’s the best use of our tax dollars it’s directly helping people in emergencies. So I really wanted to do something that honors them and show them in a very good light,” Tavakoli said.
Tavakoli said the part he was most proud of was the large, 30-foot-tall firefighter mural designed to stand out both from a distance and up close.
“And the part that I painted that I’m the most proud of is definitely the big wall, the 30 foot tall firefighter, the one that is not just going to look good from a distance. It’s going to look good up close,” he said. “But just the massive firefighters, just like showing them as a giant because that’s what they are. You know, they’re heroes.”
The large 30-foot portrait mural faces the window on the main street. It features a close-up of a woman’s face in a firefighter uniform. The woman depicted is Jackie Manriquez, an El Paso firefighting Queen. Her mural is located at the corner of Florence and Overland, facing the street, and is visible to the public.
“The one that faces the window in the main the main street. This is the one that I was the most excited about. And I definitely put my most love into this wall right here,” he said.
The other murals can only be viewed from inside the fire station. Inside the station, on the other side of Manriquez’s mural, there is also a wall of clouds with 16 plaques, each bearing the name of an El Paso firefighter who has died in the line of duty.
This wall will have 16 plaques of El Paso firefighters who died in the line of duty. (KFOX14/CBS4)
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