Beautiful Walls in the Inner City 2: More Photographs of Philadelphia's Murals and Urban Landscapes

Happy July 4th!  Recently, I've made a few trips into Philadelphia to photograph some of the city's beautiful murals. The collection of images below is an extension of an my post from last year (CLICK HERE).  In the new images, I have tried to capture each painting within a broader urban landscape (i.e. neighborhood, parking lot, street scene, etc.).  This is not meant as an exhaustive list of the city's street art, but a sampling of a few murals in three areas:  North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, and Callowhill.  Most of these are part of the city's wonderful Mural Arts Program.

While these murals are not the usual red, white and blue associated with independence day, they are uniquely American. Some illustrate parts of our history, some inspire those who are the subject of prejudice and injustice, some honor or memorialize outstanding individuals, some motivate those with day-to-day struggles (i.e. with addiction, crime, etc.).  As I view these murals and reflect on the country's events of the past few weeks, I think of the famous Martin Luther King quote:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." 

NORTH PHILADELPHIA

"Rise" (Part of The North Philadelphia Beacon Project)
Mural Artists:  James Burns
Broad Street and Lehigh, North Philadelphia

"Shine" (Part of The North Philadelphia Beacon Project)
Mural Artists:  James Burns
Broad Street and Lehigh, North Philadelphia

Grover Washington, Jr.
Mural Artist:  Peter Pagast
2032 N. Broad Street

"Healing Walls:  A Victim's Journey"
Mural Artists:  Cesar Viverons-Herrera & Parris Stancell
3049 Germantown Avenue

"It Has to Be From Here, Forgotten But Unshaken"
Mural Artist:  Betsy Casanas
3263 N. Front Street

"Porch Light Initiative:  Tell me What You See"
Mural Artist:  James Burns
Carlisle St. and Huntingdon St., North Philadelphia

WEST PHILADELPHIA

"A Celebration of Community"
Mural Artist:  Jane Degenhardt Kutzer
44th and Market St., West Philadelphia

Magic Wall
Mural Artist:  Ana Uribe
47th St. and Upland St. (near Woodland Ave.)

"Calm Consideration of Our Existence" (detail)
Mural Artist:  Parris Stancell
Antioch of Calvary Chapel
4721 Chestnut St, West Philadelphia

"Calm Consideration of Our Existence"
Mural Artist:  Parris Stancell
Antioch of Calvary Chapel
4721 Chestnut St, West Philadelphia

"Downhill River"
Mural by Paul Santoleri
S. 47th Street (near Pascall Ave.)

"Gateway to University City"
Mural Artist:  Max Mason
4008 Chestnut St., West Philadelphia

"Wilt Chamberlain"
Mural Artist:  John Lewis
13th and Vine Street

Mural artist unknown
48th and Woodland Playground
(S. 47th St. near Pascall Ave.)

"Transformation"
Mural Artist:  Eric Okdeh
4040 Market St., West Philadlphia

"The Tuskegee Airmen:  They Met the Challenge"
Mural Artist:  Marcus Akinlana
20 S. 39th Street (near Chestnut St.), West Phila.

"Love Letters:   If You Were Here..."
Mural Artist:  Steve Powers
Market Street, West Philadelphia

"Love Letters:   Hold Tight"
Mural Artist:  Steve Powers
Market Street, West Philadelphia

"Love Letters:   Knocked on Your Door"
Mural Artist:  Steve Powers
Market Street, West Philadelphia

"Love Letters:   See Me Like Beautiful..."
Mural Artist:  Steve Powers
Market Street, West Philadelphia

Joseph Leidy School

Mural Artist:  Unknown

1301 Belmont Ave.

CALLOWHILL

"History of Immigration"
Mural Artist:  Simon Huelsbeck
404 N. 2nd Street (at Callowhill St)

"Wilt Chamberlain"
Mural Artist:  John Lewis
13th and Vine Street

Equal Rights
(Martin Luther King, Jr, Statue of Liberty, etc.)
Mural Artist:  Unknown
Callowhill Street and 2nd Street

"How to Transform Anything into Something Else"
Mural Artists:  The Miss Rockaway Armada
207 N. Broad Street

Beautiful Walls in the Inner City: Photographing Philadelphia's Murals

When people think of Philadelphia, what often comes to mind are the Liberty Bell, cheesesteaks, or Rocky Balboa.  The Philadelphia Museum of Art, whose steps were immortalized in the Rocky films, displays some of the world's truly magnificent and famous works of art.  But one of the interesting (and I think very cool) things about Philadelphia is that hundreds of beautiful and inspiring paintings are on permanent exhibition, all over the city, in plain view.  Over the past few years (most recently a few days ago) I made trips into Philly to explore and photograph these wonderful murals.  

"Famous Franks" 
345 S. 13th St. 

"Common Threads"
Broad and Spring Garden Streets

"Heavenly Hall"
40th and Poplar Streets

"Dr. J"
1219 Ridge Ave.

"It Has To Be From Here…Forgotten but Unshaken"
3263 N. Front Street

"Jackie Robinson"
2803 N. Broad Street

John B. Stetson School
320 B Street

"Father Paul Washington"
3405 Ridge Avenue

"Healing Walls (Victims Journey)"
3065 Germantown Ave.

"Philadelphia Muses"
S. 13th and Locust St.

"Philadelphia Stars: a tribute to Negro League baseball"
4304 Parkside Ave.

"Progress for Women"
1307 Locust St.

As I photograph the murals, at times I tried to highlight a particular section or detail (see my photographs of "Common Threads" or "Progress for Women" above).  Other times I tried to show how the mural is situated within a neighborhood (see "Jackie Robinson" or "Healing Walls" above).  Prior to venturing into Philly, I always map out a few murals which seemed interesting (using my online resources, below).  While I always tried to reach predetermined locations, I always had "happy accidents", in which I was looking for a particular place only to stumble upon another beautiful wall.

Most of these murals were created as part of Philadelphia's MURAL ARTS PROGRAM. Visit their website to learn more about their mission and their interesting 30+ year history.  To search murals by theme, artist, or section of the city, use "muralBase," and click HERE.  To see more of my photographs, or to purchase a print, visit my online ETSY shop, and click HERE.