The story behind St. Pete's Skyline Building, now a SHINE mural canvas
St. Petersburg 's Skyline Building has lived many lives since it opened in 1961. Why it matters: This week, it's a giant canvas for artists participating in the 12th-annual SHINE Mural Festival . The big picture: By this weekend, four new murals will cover the cylindrical office building and surrounding walls on Dr. Martin Luther King Street North, said Helen French, executive director of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, which organizes the festival. Alyssa Marie with the Happy Mural Project worked with more than 500 locals to paint a floral-themed piece on the north wall of the property. The back and side walls of the building feature a moody black-and-white piece by REIVER , a self-taught artist from the United Kingdom, and a burst of color by Virginia artist Jon Murrill . And North Carolina-based artist Osiris Rain is painting the seven-story cylinder that, rumor has it, was inspired by the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, according to St. Petersburg Museum of History executive director Rui Farias. Community members work on the Happy Mural Project mural on St. Pete's Skyline Building. Photo: Todd Burgess Sunsation Media Artists REIVER and Jon Murrill work on their murals. Photo: Todd Burgess Sunsation
