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Arizona Oddities

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ArtSouthern Arizona
Home›Art›Yuma’s Water Tank Art

Yuma’s Water Tank Art

By Sam Lowe
September 30, 2009
3627
2

YUMA – Most communities adorn their water towers and tanks with either the town’s name or first initial, but in Yuma they opted for something more artistic — a giant triptych that spreads across the city’s three huge water tanks. The city council received gallons of flak when it approved the $50,000 project in 1999, but the criticism died down a year later when the work received an award from the Governor’s Pride in Arizona Committee.

35 tanks-small

“The Rio Project” murals in Yuma. Photo Credit: Sam Lowe

The big murals were designed and executed by Tucson artist Tim Merrick, who called the work “The Rio Project.” The tanks each hold three million gallons of water and handle about 50 percent of the city’s water supply every day. They sit on a hilltop overlooking Interstate 8 and Sixteenth Street. There’s no charge for looking at them, but art lovers and gawkers alike should not slow down on the Interstate to examine them because the guy in the semi behind them might not share their appreciation for the finer things in life.

 

 

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Tagsartyuma

2 comments

  1. Along for the ride… « Literally Blue 6 August, 2012 at 21:03 Reply

    […] stopped in Yuma for lunch.  Here is a shot of the mural on the water tanks.  Click here for a great article on Arizona Oddities about the […]

    • Joshua Merrick 27 March, 2014 at 20:01 Reply

      Thank you arizonaoddities and Sam Lowe for giving this much needed recognition to my father, Timothy Merrick. I am currently trying to get him even more recognition for this and his other art ventures. When the work received an award from the Governor’s Pride in Arizona Committee, my father’s name was never mentioned. If you know any way we can do this, or if you would like to maybe do a follow up story, my father is currently in Tucson looking for work. Here is a link to his fine art website as well as our brand new venture we have started together called Conserve Your Keepsakes, conservation framing for family keepsakes:
      http://www.timothymerrick.com
      http://www.conserveyourkeepsakes.com

      Thank you for your time.

      Sincerely,

      Joshua Merrick

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