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Anne Banas' "Cat House"
Perhaps the best-loved landmarks in Jacksonville is the "Cat House" mural, painted upon the arched window spaces of an abandoned bank building. Every day, tens of thousands pass this amazing 3-dimensional illusion as they exit the Main Street (John T. Alsop) Bridge.
When the Jaguars became Jacksonville's NFL team, Anne and local artist Jim Draper were asked to dress up the old, boarded up Bostwick building with a colorful Jaguars design. Located on the corner of Ocean Street (US 17) and Bay Street at the foot of the Main Street bridge, the building had years before been home to Guaranty Trust. The intriguing design, of two cats pacing "inside" and looking at passersby, was quickly accepted. |
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| The Cat House as seen exiting the Main Street Bridge onto Ocean Street. The cars in the foreground on heading West on Bay Street. Can you make out the second cat on the left? | The panels were pre-cut and primed, then actual painting was done in the studio. Like a jigsaw puzzle, the artists couldn't see the finished mural until the panels were installed on the building! |
After being approved by the Downtown Enhancement Committee in the summer of 1995, First Union bank agreed to fund the project. The team began a whirlwind three-week production so the mural could be completed before the Jaguars' first home game (not to mention the rapidly approaching start of a new school year, since both Anne and Jim also taught full time!). Jacksonville began taking ownership of the "Cat House" even before the work was finished, as local articles about the Cat House mural raised interest in this major project.
Anne and Jim had to engineer the project so the individual 25-foot sections of plywood could be primed, gridded, and painted -- all in a studio across town! Amazingly, even with up to 5 feet between the images, all the "jigsaw pieces" matched up! The project was completed in record time. The city painted "pawprints" from the Cat House east along Bay Street to the new Alltel Stadium, and the Jaguars played their first game!
The city immediately took it to heart, and huge. Almost 10 years later, every game day will find 70,000 plus fans following the pawprints from Jacksonville's real "Cat House" to the Jag's stadium "cat house!"
Read
about the Jaguars "First Team" Mural
This Jacksonville landmark is the only mural of Anne's available
as a limited edition print.
It has become a symbol of both the city and the team, and continues to
be shown during the
broadcast of every Jaguars home game.
| Sports
Collectors! |
Anne
Banas, MFA
Phone 904.343.9915
Fax 1 314.248.8595 (24 hours)