Elaborate mural display could help revitalize Midvale's downtown

Nearly 20 new murals went up this weekend around downtown Midvale — the latest city to make an entire neighborhood into a giant gallery.

Why it matters: Midvale has big plans for its downtown — not on State Street— but on a short stretch of 700 West, where century-old buildings used to house one of the county's big shopping districts.

• The city is redeveloping its historic "Main Street" neighborhood, which was hopping until around the 1970s, when it became a casualty of the freeway and suburban sprawl.
• The new murals tie into plans to make Midvale's Main Street into an arts district.

Context: The murals are the city's response to other dedicated public art neighborhoods in the county.

• The most elaborate one is in South Salt Lake's "creative industry zone" between 2100 and 2700 South near West Temple, where public art is clustered with breweries, outdoor gear merchants and other businesses.
• Murals have become an increasingly visible part of the valley's art scene in recent years.

Details: The city and ALL CAPS art gallery commissioned 18 of them, which were painted Saturday at the Main Street Mural Festival.

• If you compare the map of new murals in the city to maps of paintings elsewhere in the valley by art groups and other fans, Midvale’s downtown has one of the county's densest collections of public murals.
• They depict everything from city landmarks and natural landscapes to fantasy scenes, abstract shapes and traditional patterns.

Zoom in: Artist Kalani Tonga, who lives in Midvale, painted a nexus of patterns from Pacific island art, including a traditional turtle shell print that Utahns may see as a beehive — and that's OK, she said.

• The patterns "represent growth and coming together and strength and just all of the things I hope for with the revitalization of downtown Midvale," Tonga told Axios. "I wanted it to contribute, in my way, to making that vision come to life."

Erin's thought bubble: Midvale's Main Street is a special window into life on the Wasatch Front before it became a continuous smear of strip malls.

• Just don't spiff it up too much. The existing tattoo parlors and corner shops are crucial to the neighborhood's natural feel.
• The city's planning documents call for support for businesses that are already there.

Tip: When you visit the murals, hit Tacos El Cuñado for a snack and grab a drink at Old Towne Tavern — the unassuming charmer among Salt Lake's classic bars.

• Or visit Food Truck Friday and make a night of it.