Wall Murals

When a blank space becomes a thing of beauty

As promised back in March and May, I’m finally returning to the subject of wall murals that I’ve seen while out and about in DC. There’s plenty of content and my recent peregrinations have not taken me very far east or south, so let’s just consider this an amuse bouche for more content yet to come. Wall murals seem to be having a moment, not just in DC but in other places where I’ve traveled (relatively) recently including Selma, Denver, Kansas City, and Quebec. And I’m all for it.

But back to DC.

There are the old stand bys in Woodley Park and Adams Morgan. The Toulouse Lautrec character made more sense when the restaurant was Cafe Lautrec but no need to get rid of the French artist just due to a change in cuisine.

Works to delight children (clockwise from top left: characters from favorite books at the flagship location for Politics and Prose, bees on the backside of Janney Elementary (you’ll need to zoom in for the full effect), blowing bubbles at Georgetown Day School (whose teams are called the Hoppers, hence the grasshopper), and more children’s characters at the rear entrance of the Child’s Play toy and book shop).

As you might expect, political messages abound. On the backside of the BP station at 5100 Connecticut Avenue, NW, you’ll find 73 Cents which covers the failures of the American health care system in detail. The work of artist and activist Regina Holliday, the title refers to the cost of obtaining her husband’s medical records. It predates passage of the Affordable Care Act, but I can assure you that much of what is documented here is still a problem.

Just off 17th Street NW, you’ll find an impressive portrait of Amanda Gorman, the young poet who stunned us all with her grace and powerful words at Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021.

And then there’s the parade of presidents on the wall of the Mama Ayesha restaurant on Calvert Street NW with the restauranteur smack dab between Carter and Reagan.

And one of my favorites — on the back of the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center on 16th Street NW, a 2022 work by Rose Jaffee whose vivid designs grace many other spaces around town, including multiple DC public elementary schools.

Finally (for today) some whimsy — seen in Adams Morgan, Logan Circle, and Georgetown.

If you’re looking for more, check out this page from Destination DC, the official marketing site for DC tourism. And if you know of a great (or minor) work that I should visit, let me know.