Commissioned by the city, artist Richard Haas (b. 1936) painted outdoor murals on thirteen buildings in downtown Huntsville over a ten-year period, ranging in size from 400 square feet to 3,500 square feet. Starting on the west corner with the Gibbs Store (HL2), most of the buildings on the 1100 block of 11th Street facing the courthouse are painted with trompe l’oeil masonry details and shadows that give relief to the otherwise flat facades. On the side wall of the building at the east end of the block (facing University Avenue) are three painted arches framing scenes from the life of Sam Houston. A block south of the courthouse at 1221 Sam Houston Avenue, the upper part of a striped brick facade contains a broadsheet-like mural dedicated to blues musician Huddie (Leadbelly) Ledbetter, who spent seven years in Huntsville’s prison (HL7).