Karen Carmichael was walking with friends to the Cordova Inn for drinks after a yoga class in Williams Park one day. She noticed that the drinking fountain across from American Stage appeared to be leaking. As president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA), she reported the problem to the city, which determined that the fountain was only puddling. The city agreed to update the fountain and the area with new pavers and a larger retaining wall. DNA filed a Neighborhood Partnership Grant to complement the area with branded trash cans and landscaped the planters with hanging plants similar to the ones Carmichael had seen in Bryant Park in New York City. The association also paid for a mural on the new retaining wall.
Further research uncovered an amazing chapter of St. Pete history. The original fountain was designed as a memorial to Esther Wright, known as the Bird Lady of St. Petersburg. After opening art studios in New York, Chicago and Boston, Wright moved here in 1960 at age 62 after hearing “it was heaven.”
Every day, she rode a tricycle to the park to feed birds and squirrels. She spoke to the animals and called them by name. The amount of abuse she endured from her daily trips was almost immeasurable. She was mocked, spit at, and had dead squirrels and rocks thrown in her face. Someone hung a deer on her door, and mangled bodies of kittens were left on her doorstep. Police at the time reported she was mugged more than any other person in the city. But Wright’s work to feed the animals of Williams Park continued for 20 years, even when she biked 17 miles each way from Largo, where she lived for a time.
In 1974, CBS journalist Charles Kuralt did a story on Wright and called her “one of my favorites.” When former mayor Corinne Freeman visited her on her deathbed, Wright told her: “My greatest wish is for an animal fountain in Williams Park.” Friends of Esther Wright raised $2,861, and on Wright’s birthday, Oct. 14, 1981, a 45-inch-high fountain with a ground trough was dedicated along with a plaque in her memory.
Deb Primosh was chosen to paint the mural after Carmichael saw a painting of hers on social media. Primosh had never painted a mural before, but she knew how to portray animals with love and excitement on their faces, and she captured the essence of Wright. “People would compliment my work and bring me coffee and lunch,” Primosh recalls. “One man gave me a silver charm of an acorn to remind me of the squirrels I painted. I hope this mural brings a smile to everyone’s face and reminds us to be kind and gentle.”
To learn more about the Downtown Neighborhood Association, please visit stpetedna.org.
