A Guide to Boulder’s Murals

Guided Mural Tour by Bike

Boulder's seen such an explosion of murals, that a new tour company has launched to take you on a bike tour of some of the best. JD's Joyrides' Wall To Wall Boulder eBike Mural Tour takes you to dozens of Boulder murals and on an electric Rad Power Bike. The leisurely three-hour tour covers more than 20 miles (e-bikes make it easy!) and takes you to many of Boulder's essential sights, such as Pearl Street, Chautauqua and NCAR.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by JD’s Joyrides (@jdsjoyrides) on Sep 20, 2020 at 12:46am PDT

Street Wise Boulder: 53 Vibrant Murals

Street Wise Boulder launched in 2019 and installed 15 new murals around Boulder. In 2020, 39 artists painted murals all over the city, each within the theme of "ARTivism." These murals are superb and a great place to start your own self-guided mural tour of Boulder. 

Above: Several Street Wise murals on the former Liquor Mart building.

2020 Street Wise Murals

2019 Street Wise Murals

Here's a taste of what you'll find among the 53 colorful Street Wise murals all over Boulder. Each of the new 2020 murals has a scannable QR code beside the work, which will open a webpage with more information about the piece. Some of them even have an audio discussion to listen to on your smartphone.

'Sandra Bland' by Spray Their Name

Spray Their Name is a collaboration among Detour 303 and Hiero Viega with Just Inspire and CYA The Creator. 

Location: Dairy Arts Center
Family Friendly Location ✔️

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Street Wise Boulder (@streetwiseboulder) on Aug 13, 2020 at 3:44pm PDT

Afrotriangle's Mural

Location: 800 Pearl St., Boulder
Family Friendly Location ✔️

Gabriel Sanchez's Mural

Location: Behind the Boulder Theater

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Street Wise Boulder (@streetwiseboulder) on Oct 2, 2020 at 10:23am PDT

Ashley Joon's Mural

Location: 1909 9th St.
Family Friendly Location ✔️

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ashley Joon (@ashleyjoonart) on Sep 13, 2020 at 10:44am PDT

'Shadow' by Johnny Draco

Location: 2055 26th St.
Family Friendly Location ✔️

There are three other fantastic murals at this same location, too!

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Street Wise Boulder (@streetwiseboulder) on Sep 14, 2020 at 6:50pm PDT

Robert Martin's Mural

Location: Boulder Creek Path at 9th

Armando Silva's Mural 

Location: Boulder Chamber Center
Family Friendly Location ✔️

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by leah marie (@tinytrunx) on Sep 26, 2019 at 6:52pm PDT

'Water Is Life' by Lindee Zimmer

Location: Boulder Creative Collective
Family Friendly Location ✔️

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Lindee Zimmer (@lindeezimmer) on Oct 8, 2019 at 7:07pm PDT

'Uncounted' by Lmnopi

Location: Dairy Arts Center

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Sarah Ortegon (@nonookeiht_bee3eisei) on Oct 12, 2019 at 11:07pm PDT

'Survival' by Patrick Maxcy

Location: Twenty Ninth Street 
Family Friendly Location ✔️

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Patrick Maxcy (@patrickmaxcy) on Oct 16, 2019 at 7:59am PDT

Pat Milbery and Lowkey Creative's Mural

Location: Sports Garage
Family Friendly Location ✔️

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by The So-Gnar Creative Division (@so_gnarcreativedivision) on Oct 6, 2019 at 5:10pm PDT

Edica Pacha's Mural

Location: Moorehead and 27th-ish
You'll also see a mural by ozjuah above Edica Pacha's work, shown below.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by @edicapacha on Sep 29, 2019 at 7:53am PDT

'Defend the Defenseless' by Max Coleman

Location: 2030 17th Street
Family Friendly Location ✔️

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by @copiousfreetime on Oct 5, 2019 at 12:07pm PDT

'The eyes of all future generations are upon you' by Chelsea Lewinski, Julia Williams and Grow Love

Location: 3550 Frontier Ave.
Family Friendly Location ✔️

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Street Wise (@streetwiseboulder) on Oct 9, 2019 at 11:09am PDT

More Notable Murals

Check out these other famous and buzzed-about murals.

Boulder's "Stranger Things" Mural

Location: 28th and Arapahoe
Family Friendly Location ✔️

This mural by Timoghini has been making quite a buzz for its nod to the "Stranger Things" TV show. (Side note of interest to "Stranger Things" fans: Fiske Planetarium in Boulder has a Stranger Things laser show.) 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Visit Boulder (@visitboulder) on Aug 14, 2019 at 7:23am PDT

Penfield Tate II Portrait by Detour

Location: Boulder Public Library
Family Friendly Location ✔️

Penfield Tate II was Boulder's first (and so far only) Black mayor and a champion of LGBTQ rights.

Portrait by Detour

Location: Pearl Street and Foothills Parkway
Family Friendly Location ✔️

Runners' Mural

Location: Spruce and Broadway
Family Friendly Location ✔️

This large-scale mural has been at Spruce and Broadway for decades and depicts a diverse group of runners with the Flatirons in the background — a tribute to the spirit of Frank Shorter, a Boulder Olympian who helped spur the running boom in the 70s and contributed to Boulder's reputation as a famously active community. 

Downtown Boulder's Alley Gallery Project

Oft-neglected back-alley doors are the perfect opportunity to spur new inspiration. That's the theory behind Boulder's Alley Gallery project. So far, 19 alley doors have already been transformed into imaginative works by local artists, and more than 200 doors are being eyed for this ongoing project. Below is an example at the St Julien Hotel & Spa.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Boulder Arts & Culture (@boulderartsculture) on Jul 25, 2019 at 12:27pm PDT

SMiLE's Hidden Street Art

Street artist SMiLE's elaborately stenciled cats, historical figures and other portraits can be spotted all over Boulder, beautifying electrical boxes, garbage bins and old phone booths. Keep an eye out, particularly in the Hill neighborhood and the blocks surrounding Pearl Street. SMiLE shared with us how he'd spend his perfect day in Boulder.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Smile (@smileboulder) on Sep 20, 2020 at 8:37am PDT

Public Art Walking Tour

See murals and more on Boulder's downtown public art walking tour. You'll cruise down Pearl Street, taking in murals, sculptures and more on this leisurely, hour-or-so-long stroll through vibrant downtown.

Family friendly ✔️

Outdoor Dining Murals

Many of Boulder's restaurants have expanded onto the street for fresh-air dining during the pandemic. The city has commissioned artists to help beautify the enclosures of these pop-up dining areas. Look for them on West Pearl Street and around town.

Family friendly ✔️

Spot Your Own

More and more murals and street art are popping up around Boulder as the town's artistic ambitions grow. Keep an eye out and you're sure to find more inspiration. Snap a photo and tag @VisitBoulder to share.