Dullroar

On the side of a tavern in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood (at Bryant and N. St. Clair, near the excellent Tazza D'oro coffee shop), there's a mural depicting the way the nearby park (also called Highland Park) looked at the end of the 19th century. I have to admit the mural seems out of place there, given its immediate surroundings (basic neighborhood market, cleaners, etc.), but it's a nice reminder of the neighborhood's roots.

As usual, click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the image.

Posted by Andy at 05:16 PM | Permalink

On Penn Ave., where it meets S. Graham St. (in Pittsburgh's Garfield neighborhood), there's a mural on the side of a building of a bride leaving a house (and crying). What's particularly cool about this mural is that the house in the picture is the house right next to the mural. The mural was painted by Judy Penzer in 1995. Click the thumbnail for a larger version.

Posted by Andy at 05:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On Gold Way (a tiny back alley on the border of the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Oakland and Polish Hill), there's a pretty decrepit building with an incredible mural on its back. I've passed this building several times a week for 3 years, but until today, I never got a good look at it. It's really beautiful and impressive up close. Unfortunately the wall on which it's painted seems to be in the early stages of disintegrating.

Btw, sorry for the low light conditions. After 4 straight days of clouds and rain, I gave up on waiting for a sunny day.

Here are the pics (click any thumbnail for a larger version):

The whole scene		The low wall in front
Detail from left side of the mural	Detail from center of the mural	Detail from right side of the mural

Posted by Andy at 10:47 PM | Permalink

What's exciting about public murals is that they seem to spontaneously appear out of nowhere. I think people usually find them when they're lucky enough to glance in the right direction at the right place. Just today, I found a mural at an intersection I've passed hundreds of times over the years. Is the mural new? Probably not. I'm going to be documenting the murals I stumble across over the coming months, just because they're there and worth noticing. Here's the first:

At the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, there's a mural on a small shed visible from Shady Ave. For those unfamiliar with Pittsburgh geography, it's a map of the central spot in the region: the north side, downtown, and south side. I don't know much about this mural, but I'm guessing it was designed and created by kids.

Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of this image.

Posted by Andy at 05:37 PM | Permalink