The City of Flagstaff is commissioning a large scale 360˚mural on the water tank located at the entrance to Buffalo Park. To guide the creative process and ensure the artwork resonates with this treasured natural recreational space, the City is launching this survey to learn what Buffalo Park means to residents and what themes and ideas might be reflected in this monumental mural. The selected artist will work with the City’s Beautification, Arts & Sciences program to create a site-specific artwork.

Buffalo Park is valued for its recreational offerings, including stargazing, picnicking, dog walking, and high-altitude endurance training, as well as cross-country skiing in winter. It was originally established on McMillan Mesa in 1963 when the City Council authorized a Wild West Wildlife Park on 163 acres of city-owned land, part of more than 700 acres acquired by the city in a trade with the Forest Service in 1958. The park not only included bison (mis-named “buffalo”), but a stagecoach ride, holdups, as well as the town's Old Trapper (O.T. Gillette), Navajo hogans, assorted elk, deer and antelope, an array of barnyard animals and a bird sanctuary. The park closed in 1969 and the park’s namesake buffalo sculpture at the entrance remains a testament to that era.