ORLANDO, Fla. — The “Beast of the East” is back in an Orlando neighborhood.

What You Need To Know

  • A new mural, titled "Meanwhile at Fire Station 11," depicts the courage and selflessness of firefighters and EMTs in the Dover Shores community

  • Artists Ricardo and Emily Ramirez spent 100 hours on the design
  • The South Carolina artists hope the mural inspires other art projects 

The new Fire Station 11 that opened in the Dover Shores Community off Curry Ford and Gaston Foster Roads is replacing the old one, along with a new state-of-the-art facility, which is a nod to those who serve the city.

Ricardo and Emily Ramirez, the husband and wife team from South Carolina that were tapped to paint the mural, spent 100 hours on the design.

The duo started off by laying out the dimensions of the mural so they could project each image.

Both said in the same way you see heroes in a comic book, these artists and the city of Orlando wanted to showcase local heroes.

“So the pressure is definitely there,” said Ricardo Ramirez.

The most critical part of the project was laying it all out, so the final product was symmetrical and proportionate. Past the halfway point after projecting and tracing each pattern, Spectrum News returned to the site.  

The Ramirez’s worked an average of 12 hours each day for nearly three weeks.

“You’ve seen people honk and they’re like, ‘Yeah, keep going, good job,’” said Ricardo.

He says it’s been a rewarding process. “It shows how people are invested in this project and how excited they are in this project to see it come to fruition,” he continued.

Both artists say the goal is to honor the firefighters and the work they do, while representing the Dover Shores community they serve.

“We find ourselves repeating the edges pretty often to try to get that crisp look,” said Emily Ramirez.

Emily says she never imagined making it this far — from the design, to how it looks now.

“To top it off to find out we were chosen in spite of the fact that we weren’t local, but it’s something that’s being held so dear in the community has really meant a lot to us,” she continued.

The mural, titled “Meanwhile at Fire Station 11,” depicts the courage and selflessness of firefighters and EMTs.

Both artists say the individual paintings in the mural show staples of the Dover Shores community, including Demetree Park and Curry Ford Road. Both artists hope “Meanwhile at Fire Station 11,” also known as, “The Beast of the East,” inspires other art projects.

“This project in particular has shown me how public art is a gift to the community,” said Ricardo.

The mural took the Ramirez’s nearly three weeks to complete.

Fire Station 11 was the second station H.J. High has built for the city under a contract for three stations won in 2017. They’re partnered with Architects Design Group on these stations.

The first station built Was Fire Station 9. The second station was 11. The next station they’re building is Fire Station 6.

The city says H.J. High, the contractor for the construction of the fire station, also helped pay the artists from contract funds.

The first Fire Station 11 construction project allocated 1% of the construction cost towards art, a total of $70,000 as part of the city’s public art program.

Here’s the breakdown: $3,000 was used for stipends to the final three artists, $700 for the installation of a plaque and $66,300 for the artists.

Shawn Straight, Director of Company Engagement at H.J. High Construction Company — and also the liaison for the mural — says he anticipates all future stations having public art as well.

The city of Orlando says there will be more stations built in the future, but there are no specific projects identified for the public art fund currently.