Concrete Berm to Community Beacon

A 54-YEAR-OLD CONCRETE berm stretching 400 feet along one of Oshkosh’s busiest corridors was long dismissed as a gray afterthought. Today, the 17-foot-tall structure at the entrance to the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh campus commands attention as a sweeping tribute to Titan Athletics — proof of what wide-format printing can accomplish when scale, storytelling and sheer grit converge.

Joshua and Carla Marquardt, owners, Art City Wraps, were hired by Discover Oshkosh to reimagine the 6,400-square-foot cement berm fronting the Kolf Sports Center. The wall, pitched at a daunting 35–45-degree angle, was porous, cracked and partially overgrown. Multiple mural attempts had been rejected over the years. This time, the stakes included a homecoming deadline and approvals from the tourism board, city officials, university marketing and a newly appointed chancellor.

Carla Marquardt led a 400-hour design effort, mining decades of archives to build a massive collage in Adobe Photoshop, section by section, ensuring historic images could be reproduced at sizes up to 17 by 40 feet.

Joshua Marquardt printed more than 200 panels using General Formulations RoughMark cast vinyl, selected for its aggressive adhesive and conformability on raw concrete, then protected the graphics with GF 844 Ulti-Matte laminate. Installation required inventing an angled mat system in place of ladders or lifts. “It’s not vertical, it’s at an angle, so that made it difficult,” says Joshua. The five-person crew completed the installation in two and a half days.

The result is more than a wrap. It is a landmark narrative—transforming neglected infrastructure into a durable, large-scale celebration of school pride and demonstrating how modern materials can push environmental graphics onto surfaces once considered untouchable.

“My cousin had a family member who had been in a car accident, crashing into the wall where the mural is now. She shared with me that for the past 50 years, every time she drove by the wall, she remembered. Now she says she drives by that wall and smiles, and that was a really nice thing for me to hear. And I think people who see it feel a sense of pride as well,” shares Carla.

PHOTO GALLERY (18 IMAGES)