Gerald Thurman traveled to Phoenix in November, 2006 to document these murals. They cover the exterior walls on three sides of a former meat processing plant. The Clougherty Meat Packing Plant created the Farmer John brand in 1953 and hired the Australian-born artist Leslie Grimes to paint farm scenes on the sides of their buildings in the 1960s. An interesting side note is that this company also created the legendary foot-long Los Angeles "Dodger Dogs" and still sells over 400 million pounds of pork each year.

Leslie Grimes was also a scenery painter at the Fox and Charlie Chaplin movie studios in the early 1930s.

These snapshots of the mural at the Vernon, California plant include a rather interesting depiction of a farmer's maid.

Update August 2024 (RTA):The Farmer John plant in Vernon has closed.

Location: 222 S. 9th Ave. (the northwest corner of S. 9th Ave. and W. Jackson St.) Phoenix, AZ 85007 (East of I-10)

If you go: the building is located in a slightly run-down area and you should be alert for possible criminal activity in the immediate area.

More photos:

Photographed by Gerald Thurman, 11/17/06
Posted on RoadTrip America 01/07