‘From blank to swank.’ Huge new mural to transform midtown Columbus building
A new mural being painted in Columbus is beginning to transform a big brick building’s facade into a visual celebration of what makes this part of the city unique.
Organizers are calling the project’s impact “from blank to swank.”
Work on the mural began the week of July 7 on the east-facing wall of Extra Space Storage in Cross Country Plaza and will take an estimated 30 days to complete.
“The mural is going to showcase iconic areas within midtown, places of pride, places of interest, businesses that have a long, long history of being in midtown, and just things about midtown that we love,” Julio Portillo, executive director of MidTown Inc. told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Chris Johnson, a regional muralist, is painting the mural, assisted by Michael Burke. Johnson has painted several other murals in midtown and in downtown Columbus, and he was the lead muralist for “The Spirit of the Chattahoochee” mural on the Columbus Riverwalk.
Johnson said this new mural is 130 feet wide by 22 feet tall and contains seven, 19-foot-tall letters spelling “MIDTOWN.” He and Burke are working from a boom lift because the mural begins 14 feet above the ground.
“It’s massive. It’s just a big painting, so that’s a challenge in itself,” Johnson told the Ledger-Enquirer, “But, you know, the thing that makes it cool and eye catching and really a powerful public art piece is the scale of it.”
Each letter will contain individual paintings capturing that which makes midtown unique.
“It’s just going to be a beautiful kind of scene, highlighting a bunch of things in midtown,” Johnson said. “There’s a scrambled dog that’s in there, which I’m really looking forward to painting.”
The project is a collaborative partnership between MidTown Inc., Columbus 2025 and the property owners, Portillo said. He declined to disclose the cost.
He credits Will Barnes, a local architect who died in 2024, with the idea.
“When designing the building, he thought this is a great opportunity for some public art,” Portillo said.
“Since Will has passed, I have finished or have worked on three murals that me and him have started together from the very beginning phases of the architectural renderings from the building,” Johnson said, “so it’s cool to pick up that vision, continue it out and see it through.”
Portillo said they are planning a public celebration when the mural is completed. Details will be announced nearer to completion day, he said.
“This artwork will undoubtedly be regarded as iconic to MidTown,” Portillo said in a MidTown Inc. press release, “We are so excited to present public art to our community that will be admired and enjoyed for decades to come.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 1:46 PM.