At the heart of every great attraction is a great story. As storytellers by craft, PGAV has always been flush with tales and yarns. Prior to the renovation, these manifested themselves in beautifully crafted scale models of hallmark PGAV projects and in Bryan Haynes’ floor to ceiling murals, Aqua and Terra. In our new space, we wanted to feel our legacy in every space we inhabited. We wanted to showcase our work, our process, and have some fun with it.


We pulled countless boxes from our warehouse, unrolled tubes upon tubes of drawings, finding our favorite sketches, drawings, and plans. Some of that artwork went straight on the wall. Some became oversized murals for our new conference rooms, which were named for pivotal projects and stories. A meeting in “Te Whale” might prompt a story from a coworker about swimming with whale sharks at Georgia Aquarium, or a tale of designing the world’s largest aquarium window. Painted live at the 2018 PGAV IAAPA Breakfast Bash, an immense painting of our staff mascot – Spot the Zebra – now adorns the wall. And for the first time in our company’s history,


our logo now adorns the outside of our 200 N. Broadway studio.


To highlight the artistry in our work, PGAV commissioned local sign painter and artist Phil Jarvis to free-hand paint our cornerstone catch phrases and designs throughout the office. He related PGAV to many of his tattoo parlor clients, both being full of creative artists that give him ample freedom and a live audience, which he enjoys. PGAV provided Phil several renderings and lettering but gave him the leeway to bring a rough and authentic distressing to many of the images. As a result, PGAV’s roller coasters, aquatic life, finishes, and even Spot the Zebra have found a new life in the renovated space.


A lover of Highlights Magazine growing up, Phil’s hallmark is to hide his face within most of his work, and then always sign it, “hand painted by…” Do your best to find these hidden attributions and Spot the Zebra on your next visit to our studio.


A renovation is certainly full of millions of critical moments that need to be carefully managed, but there are certain elements of a renovation that should be given leeway and freedom to allow for authentic and beautiful discoveries to grow. Te moments of discovery in our renovation were driven by a desire to tell the PGAV story, provide storytelling moments for experienced staff to share with younger staff, and to allow our team and guests to be inspired by PGAV’s legacy projects.


PHIL JARVIS Local St. Louis Artist


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