My Place Tires at 1203 W. Washington (Old Route 66) recently celebrated a grand opening with all day specials, food, and door prizes. Owner Craig Stovall is proud of the new tire shop building, and he and manager Mike Richardson and the staff were anxious to show it off to the community, especially the building’s new mural that was then still in progress.

The now-completed mural helps draw the eye to My Place Tires. Missouri artist Ray Harvey painted the roadside scene on the façade of the building. The business sign, also painted by Harvey, will go below that. The custom mural depicts a red corvette with a license plate that says “Rt.-66” and an attendant’s hat that says “My Place.”

“The location on Route 66 and the attention the art will receive prompted a design that said ‘nostalgia,’” stated Harvey. “The painting is designed to look like a mid-century tire ad, including the popular ’62 Corvette and a vintage-style tire dealer in uniform.”

Harvey also painted the Bette Davis mural on the Cuba Free Press building, as well as the mural panels on the Bill Wallis/history mural at the four-way stop, both along Route 66.

Stovall went with a mural on his building instead of a regular sign because he wanted to tie into the rest of the town, known as “Route 66 Mural City,” and its murals.  He and his team thought a mural would look better and make more sense than “plain Jane” business signage.

The new mural is appropriate for My Place Tires, which sells new and used tires, balances tires, does state inspections, oil changes, and small automotive repair work.

Stovall owns a complex of three adjacent buildings, all on Route 66: Craig Stovall Masonry and Masonry Materials & Rentals, My Place Tires, and a brick office building for the businesses.

Craig Stovall Masonry does commercial and residential work and has completed school projects, including one for the Crawford County R-II Schools. The Materials and Rentals business rents equipment and sells masonry materials such as mortar, sand, block, brick, and stone.

Jennifer Greenwalt, the general manager for the businesses, worked with the Viva Cuba organization to contact artists and solicit bids for their new mural. Then Stovall and his team picked the winning design and bid.

With the bright new mural and the new business, Stovall and his enterprises are making a statement of prosperity along Route 66 and in Cuba.