Sometime last week, in the middle of the night, phantom artists painted a large mural at the intersection of 13th and Broad. The mural showcases the history of Phenix City, which was named an All-American City in 1955. The painters had to paint the mural in the middle of the night because drivers would not have had the patience to wait for them during the day, nor did they want to play the dangerous game of Frogger. Also, cooler nighttime temperatures might have sweetened the deal.
The midnight muralists then did the same thing in the middle of Broad St., painting a giant, white phoenix between the pedestrian walkways. While the city was most likely named after the Phenix Mills, the name is close enough for a relation to be made with the mythical bird that always rises from the ashes. If you think about it, that is just what Phenix City did in 1955, after the assassination of Albert Patterson and the subsequent cleanup.
The twilight taggers weren’t satisfied with two murals and went on to paint a third at the intersection of Broad St. and Dillingham St. The giant mural proclaims PC! in big red and yellow letters, a much larger version of the city’s Positively Phenix City logo…