Muralist Mary Mann
The foxes, bears, rabbits and snowflakes appearing on the Antique Sandwich Company’s windows near Ruston weren’t just a seasonal touch. They were the latest work from Mary Mann, a muralist whose paintings have become part of the landscape across Tacoma and Pierce County.
Mann painted the restaurant’s annual winter scene early this year before heading to Montana to care for family. Her connection to the restaurant goes back much further: two Indigenous mermaids surrounded by sea life have decorated its exterior since 2011.
That’s one of more than 30 buildings featuring Mann’s work. Her murals include a colorful series beneath Schuster Parkway near Chinese Reconciliation Park, a “253” tattooed fist holding dandelions near Sixth Avenue, and scenes inspired by Wright Park and Tacoma’s history.
Mann grew up in Tacoma and began painting large-scale murals here in 1995. She later taught art at the Science and Math Institute for 16 years. While some of her older murals have disappeared as buildings changed, others remain recognizable neighborhood markers.
Her process has changed, too. Mann now uses digital tools such as Procreate to develop designs, and this summer she used a virtual-reality headset to project a mural design onto a wall before outlining it. She told The News Tribune’s Becca Most that each mural presents a different challenge, shaped by its location, viewers and viewing distance.
People often stop to talk or honk as Mann works, she said—a response she sees as part of what makes public art matter. Read the full News Tribune profile for more of Mann’s work and the stories behind the murals Tacoma residents may already know by sight.
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