Local Artist Depicts Capitol Street 100 Years Ago in Gift to the City
A mural by well-known local artist Jesse Corlis is nearing completion close to the corner of Capitol and Quarrier Streets. In celebration of 25 years in downtown Charleston, Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso PLLC and building partnership 200 Capitol Street LLC commissioned Jesse to paint the mural on the alley wall of their 200 Capitol Street building.
“Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso is delighted to partner with CURA on this outdoor mural project alongside artist Jesse Corlis. In addition to providing a gift to everyone at our law firm, it has been a pleasure working with Jesse to develop his vision into a public art piece that the community can enjoy,” said Tom Flaherty, Member of Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso.
The Charleston Urban Renewal Authority (CURA) approved and agreed to partially fund the mural earlier this year which depicts a 1900s scene of a streetcar approaching the corner of Capitol and Quarrier Streets. One hundred years ago, Quarrier Street stopped at Capitol Street. Jesse's vision was to paint the streetcar as if it is coming out of the alley and show a view from Quarrier looking toward Capitol as if the firm’s building is not there.
"The old, weathered brick made me want to celebrate the history of the location. Looking at lots of old photos of Capitol Street inspired me to come up with this imagined scene of a trolley stop in that spot around 1910; a heyday of Charleston noted Corlis. I wanted to capture the romance and sort of creepy ephemeral charm of the photos of that era to make it feel more like a memory than an illustration."
Jesse has numerous pieces of art on display in Charleston, including the elephant at Pies and Pints on Capitol Street, the mural at Mi Cocina de Amor on Bigley Avenue on the West side and an octopus on one of the bridge columns at Gallery 64. His latest mural should be finished in time for this month’s upcoming ArtWalk on April 20th.
New downtown mural inspired by Charleston’s history
By Ali Schmitz, as published in the Charleston Gazette-Mail
4/16/17
The artist behind a new mural in downtown Charleston said the work reflects the history of the city.