Sarasota artist Skip Dyrda visited Punta Gorda last week to restore his 2019 mural, "Tails from the Harbor.”
Located under the U.S. 41 southbound bridge, it was heavily damaged by surge and debris, then vandalized by graffiti following Milton. Due to the extent of the damage, Dyrda had to repaint major parts of the mural. All that remains is for him to seal the paint and apply an anti-graffiti coating.
“Tails from the Harbor” is one of 32 murals the Punta Gorda Historic Mural Society has installed since 1997.
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Hurricane Milton covered the mural with over 5 feet of water. Paint was scraped off by debris that was smashed against it by the tide. Even the mural's bronze plaque was knocked off and lost, and the panel on the right end of the mural was significantly damaged by fencing that came loose and scraped up against it.
The mural’s conservation was delayed as well because the harbor walk was closed until recently.
This mural depicts marine life found in Charlotte Harbor and area waterways, both past and present, which originally supported the region’s Indigenous tribes for thousands of years and brought travelers to these shores over the past 500 years.
According to the mural society website, the Spanish were seeking a new source of food in the 1500s after overfishing the waters of the Caribbean. They found a rich and vast food source when they arrived in Charlotte Harbor. In 1513, the harbor teemed with marine life, as the estuary served as a breeding ground for vast varieties of fish.
The Spanish set up salt-fish ranchos (fish camps) on the islands in the harbor. Returning during the winter to harvest, they would send the smoked fish back to their settlements in the Caribbean. These ranchos operated well into the1830s, providing commerce between the local Natives and Cuba.
With the arrival of the railroad in 1886, the area’s commercial fishing industry took off, utilizing newly available rapid transportation and insulated boxcars to send fresh fish north. Over the next 50-75 years, the industry continued to expand with record amounts of fish being caught. Around this time, sport fishing also took off with the influx of the rich and famous trying their hand at hooking a mighty tarpon or harpooning a giant manta ray. Coupled with loss of habitat, these eventually led to the depletion of the fishery and loss of the giants of our waters.
“Tails from the Harbor” reminds viewers of the species that still populate local waters, albeit in much reduced numbers.
“Our hope,” states the Punta Gorda Historic Mural Society on its website, “is that it will not only provide a lesson in history, but also inspire conservation of our fragile marine environment."
The mural was dedicated on June 20, 2019. It measures 14 feet in height by 76 feet in length.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
