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City Hall wall to tell story of Surprise

Timeline to help celebrate 60 years of incorporation

Posted 2/17/20

The saying “if these walls could talk” will certainly apply to Surprise City Hall, 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, as the city begins celebrating its 60th year of incorporation in 2020.

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City Hall wall to tell story of Surprise

Timeline to help celebrate 60 years of incorporation

Posted

The saying “if these walls could talk” will certainly apply to Surprise City Hall, 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, as the city begins celebrating its 60th year of incorporation in 2020.

That’s because a wall mural that details the city’s history going back further than that will be soon unveiled as part of the official celebration.

Created by artist Muriel Sawicki, the City Council on Feb. 4 officially accepted the project that was commissioned by the Arts and Cultural Advisory Commission for the anniversary of incorporation.

“Our goal is to have it completed and ready for the State of the City celebrating Surprise’s 60th birthday,” Arts and Cultural Advisory Commission Chair Margaret Lieu said.

The State of the City event, set for Thursday, March 26 this year, will be the official recognition of incorporation as the town of Surprise in December 1960.

The timeline, however, goes back farther than that. It starts at 1938 with the story of Flora Mae Statler founding the city and continues through the decades with information about the town’s incorporation in 1960.

The 1970s and 1980s panels detail the growth of the town, which eventually becomes a city in 1991.

Spring training and more growth dominate the panels for the 2000s.

It ends with a large quote from Mayor Skip Hall: “Surprise is marking 60 years with a rich past to celebrate and a future that will continue to make history.”

“I’m blown away,” District 4 City Councilman Ken Remley said. “This is amazing. What a tribute.”

The project cost about $23,750.

District 5 Councilman David Sanders asked about the possibility of extending the mural in 2030 to add the decade of the 2020s.

“This is an exciting project, so exciting,” Mr. Hall said.

Editor’s Note: Jason Stone can be reached at jstone@newszap.com. Visit yourvalley.net.