Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
All of the pics I've posted are all DC and I'm only getting started. I'm a DC native born and raised so I know the city better then you. Also DC beats Philly in this category.
I don't think so. Philly is called the "mural capital of the world". DC is not. Currently there are over 3,000 murals in the city. There are mural tours and everything.
Philly was covered in graffiti 25 to 30 years ago so they started the mural program and it really took off.
Last time I checked the thread was called "cities with the best murals", not "cities with the most murals". Philly possibly having the most is pretty irrelevant, and particularly in a country where murals are literally everywhere.
The best I've personally seen (or at least taken note of) are in New York, SF/Oakland, Philadelphia and Los Angeles in that order. Manhattan by itself has an incredible diversity of styles, periods and etc. represented throughout the borough; you'll find everything from commisioned artwork to street memorials to graf-inspired drops and etc. around just about every corner. You'll find murals from different cultures of the world throughout, and particularly when you move on to the other boroughs. The city truly is a canvas and an art appreciator's paradise.
Both San Francisco and Oakland have a similar level of mural diversity as New York; however, they're not quite as omnipresent as they are in New York nor as accepted as a legitimate part of the urban fabric. Sadly, great murals will often come and go, particularly those in the downtown areas of either city. One interesting detail about SF though is that the vast majority of liquor stores in San Francisco are adorned with murals that may or may not have been commissioned by the liquor stores; in either case, they're rarely ever removed. Another trend in SF and Oakland that's also common in NYC but not as common in other cities is the prevalence of delivery truck murals.
Philadelphia has a stunning collection of murals and definitely belongs in the top 3 mural cities in America, but one knock against it is that the brunt of its murals are overwhelmingly done in the same style. I was frankly shocked at how difficult it was to find anything that could be construed as "street art" or anything non-commissioned in general... These are two of the very few examples I actually saw in person in the city:
As someone used to seeing a bigger variety of street artwork it became a little mundane to see the same style all throughout the city over and over again. That being said, it also gives the city a uniform sense of character that works to its benefit for the most part, and its great to see a city that puts a spotlight on the city and country's black history through art.
Los Angeles has some incredible murals throughout the city, but they're not nearly as prevalent as they are in the other three. Similarly to Philly a lot of the murals are focused on the city and country's Latin American history, but unlike Philly there's also a lot of variety of other stuff. Philly still beats LA though IMO if not just for the sheer scope of what was done in Philly.
Last time I checked the thread was called "cities with the best murals", not "cities with the most murals". Philly possibly having the most is pretty irrelevant, and particularly in a country where murals are literally everywhere.
The best I've personally seen (or at least taken note of) are in New York, SF/Oakland, Philadelphia and Los Angeles in that order. Manhattan by itself has an incredible diversity of styles, periods and etc. represented throughout the borough; you'll find everything from commisioned artwork to street memorials to graf-inspired drops and etc. around just about every corner. You'll find murals from different cultures of the world throughout, and particularly when you move on to the other boroughs. The city truly is a canvas and an art appreciator's paradise.
Both San Francisco and Oakland have a similar level of mural diversity as New York; however, they're not quite as omnipresent as they are in New York nor as accepted as a legitimate part of the urban fabric. Sadly, great murals will often come and go, particularly those in the downtown areas of either city. One interesting detail about SF though is that the vast majority of liquor stores in San Francisco are adorned with murals that may or may not have been commissioned by the liquor stores; in either case, they're rarely ever removed. Another trend in SF and Oakland that's also common in NYC but not as common in other cities is the prevalence of delivery truck murals.
Philadelphia has a stunning collection of murals and definitely belongs in the top 3 mural cities in America, but one knock against it is that the brunt of its murals are overwhelmingly done in the same style. I was frankly shocked at how difficult it was to find anything that could be construed as "street art" or anything non-commissioned in general... These are two of the very few examples I actually saw in person in the city:
As someone used to seeing a bigger variety of street artwork it became a little mundane to see the same style all throughout the city over and over again. That being said, it also gives the city a uniform sense of character that works to its benefit for the most part, and its great to see a city that puts a spotlight on the city and country's black history through art.
Los Angeles has some incredible murals throughout the city, but they're not nearly as prevalent as they are in the other three. Similarly to Philly a lot of the murals are focused on the city and country's Latin American history, but unlike Philly there's also a lot of variety of other stuff. Philly still beats LA though IMO if not just for the sheer scope of what was done in Philly.
Last time I checked this was a thread about murals not graffiti. The two examples you listed shows that you may not know the difference between the two. They are both graffiti! The first one is in Kensington where graffiti bombs just like that are everywhere but they are not considered murals. The second one is also grafitti in which a bunch of different people have added to it over time. Modern day graffiti started in Philly and at one point had the most graffiti 'pieces" of any city (which is why they started the mural program) so comming across big pieces that may look like murals are common but there still not really considered a mural there graffiti. Now you may consider graffiti a mural but the OP specifically said "not graffiti". Maybe there isn't much graffiti in The Bay so a big peice like that looks like mural to you IDK.
If you really visited Philadelphia (not just on google streetview) and were looking at murals I see absolutely no way that those two could be the ones that stuck in your mind. As there are gigantic murals all over the city that you cannot miss.
The following shows some examples of actual Philadelphia murals...
Last time I checked this was a thread about murals not graffiti. The two examples you listed shows that you may not know the difference between the two. They are both graffiti! The first one is in Kensington where graffiti bombs just like that are everywhere but they are not considered murals. The second one is also grafitti in which a bunch of different people have added to it over time. Modern day graffiti started in Philly and at one point had the most graffiti 'pieces" of any city (which is why they started the mural program) so comming across big pieces that may look like murals are common but there still not really considered a mural there graffiti. Now you may consider graffiti a mural but the OP specifically said "not graffiti". Maybe there isn't much graffiti in The Bay so a big peice like that looks like mural to you IDK.
If you really visited Philadelphia (not just on google streetview) and were looking at murals I see absolutely no way that those two could be the ones that stuck in your mind. As there are gigantic murals all over the city that you cannot miss.
The following shows some examples of actual Philadelphia murals...
From my experience, Philadelphia wins this, however Miami has some great examples of murals (all within Wynwood). Excuse my awful camera:
(Os Gemos)
Some of the best street artists in the world come to Miami to paint on walls.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
