11/17/2025
You can’t walk more than a few blocks in Philly without seeing a story on a wall. The city has over 4,000 murals, more than anywhere else in the country and turning our neighborhoods into open-air galleries.
What started back in the 1980s as an anti-graffiti effort became something much bigger: the Mural Arts Program, a way for artists, kids, and whole communities to paint their pride instead of hiding it. Over time it grew into a kind of citywide diary written in color, brick, and soul.
Each mural tells a story of the people who built this city, the ones we’ve lost, the causes we’ve fought for, and the neighborhoods that refuse to fade. You’ll see history in North Philly, hope in West, memory in South, and power rising tall in Center City.
They’re not just paintings; they’re proof that Philly doesn’t wait for a museum to tell its story, it puts it right on the street where everyone can see it.
