Cleveland Street Art: The Best Murals in Cleveland and Where to Find Them

I can’t say for sure when graffiti became “street art,” or when it went from being considered vandalism to being recognized as public art. But I know that good murals are definitely art and that good street art can help breathe new life into old neighborhoods.

Cleveland’s street art scene has been growing, with new, bold murals going up around the city every single year. In Cleveland, these murals are often commissioned works of art, meaning they should be around for years to come!

To help you navigate Cleveland’s growing street art scene, I’ve decided to write a guide to all my favorite murals in Cleveland. This guide is divided by neighborhood, and I’ll provide as much info about each mural as I can to help you find them all!

(There’s also a map with all the murals plotted at the end of this post!)

OHIO CITY MURALS

Ohio City is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Cleveland – largely thanks to its great street art! There have been several mural projects in the last couple of years that have brought a lot of vibrant art to this neighborhood, so settle in for a long list.

Greetings from Cleveland

• Address: 2104 West 25th Street (Corner of W 25th and Chatham)
• Artist: Victor Ving

This is probably one of the more iconic murals in Cleveland, and is part of NYC graffiti artist Victor Ving’s series of vintage postcard-style murals that are installed in cities all across the United States.

Market Garden Brewery fried eggs mural

• Address: 1947 West 25th Street (Corner of W. 25th and Market, on the side of Market Garden Brewery)
• Artist: Paatrice Marchand

This mural replaced the chalkboard-style “Before I die, I want to…” mural that used to be on the side of Market Garden Brewery. This new one, with fried eggs floating like clouds in the sky, says “If you see a cloud behind the sun, it must be an egg.”

The mural was created by French artist Paatrice Marchand, and reflects the area’s market ties (it’s right next to West Side Market). The mural was created to celebrate Cleveland and Rouen, France’s 10-year anniversary as sister cities.

By Hand

• Address: Market Square Park (Corner of West 25th and Lorain Ave.)
• Artists: Augustina Droze and Mike Moritz

Market Square park sits where the old Pearl Street Market used to take place (the market that the West Side Market eventually replaced). The entire area was revitalized around the market’s centennial, and included several new works of public art being installed.

The “By Hand” mural was commissioned through the City of Cleveland’s Percent-for-Art program, and was painted by Buffalo-based muralist Augustina Droze. Droze didn’t just draw any hands, though – she spent time in the neighborhood photographing the hands of people who worked at West Side Market and other local businesses in order to get inspiration. The mural truly is “locally sourced.”

The stripes on the mural are actually aluminum, produced by local artist Mike Moritz.

Glass Bubble Project mural

• Address: 2421 Bridge Ave (just down from West 25th)
• Artist: Unknown

The outside of Glass Bubble Project is covered in swirls of bright color. I don’t know who painted this one (if you do know, please let me know!), but I stop and smile every time I see it.

You should go inside, too, to check out their glass blowing studio and welding shop – they even have a pet rooster named Morty!

Market Garden Brewery mural 2

• Address: 1849 West 24th Street
• Artists: The Bubble Process

Market Garden really likes its murals! It put up another one on the side of its store and tour building on West 24th, behind the West Side Market.

It was painted by The Bubble Process, a duo made up of Sean Higgins and Nicholas Rezabek. In partnership with Market Garden and LAND Studios, the pair say this mural was inspired by a poem by Rowan Ricardo Phillips.

Mason’s Creamery murals

• Address: 4401 Bridge Avenue (side of Mason’s Creamery)
• Artist: Mike Sobeck

Mason’s Creamery actually has two murals on its Bridge Ave. building (the other is a lettered mural that says “Come over all the time!”), but the giant ice cream cone is definitely my favorite!

This was painted by local artist Mike Sobeck. Sobeck says the flavors he painted are Mason’s raspberry sorbet (SO GOOD) and caramel ice cream.

HINGETOWN MURALS

Hingetown is technically part of Ohio City, but the artsy neighborhood is filled with so many great murals that I decided it deserved its own shout-out.

The murals in this area largely went up during the Creative Fusion mural project in 2016. That project, funded by the Cleveland Foundation, led to the creation of 11 new mural projects by both local and international artists.

Shoreway mural

• Address: Washington Avenue between West 25th and West 28th streets
• Artist: Ananda Nahu

If you’ve driven onto the Shoreway via the West 28th Street on-ramp, you’ve driven right over top of this incredible mural designed by Brazilian artist Ananda Nahu. The mural, which can be seen all along Washington Ave. between West 25th and West 28th, spans an astounding 620 feet, making it the largest mural in Ohio.

Nahu was hosted during the Creative Fusion project by the Cleveland Public Theater, and the mural depicts some of the local children she met through the theater’s Brick City Theater program. Brick City Theater is an intensive arts program for youth in the area.

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This vibrant mural was completed in just 6 weeks with the help of local Cleveland artists like Gary Williams, Robin Robinson, Derrick Quarles and Adam Zimmerman.

Love Doves

• Address: West Shoreway retaining wall at West 25th Street (Corner of W 25th and Main, across from Saint Malachi School)
• Artists: Erin Guido and Joe Lanzilotta

This mural was a pretty big deal for Cleveland’s street art scene! Cleveland was chosen along with 4 other cities around the world for Instagram’s #kindcomments mural project in 2017, which coincided with Pride Month.

The Cleveland mural that resulted was painted by local artists Erin Guido and Joe Lanzilotta, who are project managers at LAND Studio.

Prince mural

• Address: West Shoreway retaining wall at West 25th Street (Corner of W 25th and Main)
• Artist: Glen Infante

Right across W 25th from the Love Doves is another Cleveland mural I love: the purple mural of Prince. It was painted by local artist Glen Infante, who also owns popular clothing brand iLTHY.

Flying tiger

• Address: 2817 Detroit Ave (corner of W. 28th and Detroit Avenue, on the side of the Schaefer Printing building)
• Artist: Michela Picchi

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This 130-foot-long mural is kind of unmissable as you drive down Detroit. It was painted by Italian artist Michela Picchi, and I love the bright colors she uses in all her work.

Pizzashrine

• Address: West 28th and Church Street (on the back of the Schaefer Printing building)
• Artist: Mike Sobeck

They’re currently doing construction in this spot, so access to this mural might be limited; but it’s one of my absolute favorites! It’s on the same building as the flying tiger, but was painted by Mike Sobeck (the same guy who did the ice cream mural – yes, he paints lots of food!).

Ohio hieroglyphics

• Address: 1468 W. 25th Street (corner of W. 25th and Church)
• Artist: David Shillinglaw

Note: I made up the name of this mural because it doesn’t seem to have a name. But I read that English artist David Shillinglaw took inspiration from Egyptian hieroglyphics for this three-story mural, so I’m giving it a name! I like that every time I drive by this mural, I feel like I notice something new about it.

Cartoon faces mural

• Address: Corner of West 29th Street and Church Street (on the back of TITLE Boxing)
• Artist: Joe Lanzilotta

If you’re driving down Church Street into the heart of Hingetown, it’s impossible to miss this mural. Purple-hued cartoon heads float on a bright yellow wall (and I mean BRIGHT). This is another work by LAND Studio’s Joe Lanzilotta.

GORDON SQUARE MURALS

Perhaps because of the success of the Creative Fusion project in 2016, the Gordon Square Arts District teamed up with LAND Studio and the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization to install a series of 8 new murals starting in 2017.

Gordon Square is an up-and-coming neighborhood with theaters, art galleries, and great food, so the murals are just one more reason to visit.

Land Ahoy

• Address: 5209 Detroit Avenue (on the side of The Centers for Families and Children’s Reinberger Auditorium)
• Artists: Jessie and Katey

This large mural was painted by Jessie and Katey (Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn), a duo from Baltimore, Maryland. This is the largest of the murals in Gordon Square.

Stockyard Meats mural

• Address: 6105 Detroit Avenue (side of Stockyard Meats)
• Artists: Eileen Dorsey and Chicago-based Ish Muhammad

This colorful mural was a collaboration between Cleveland artist Eileen Dorsey and Chicago-based Ish Muhammad, who’s known for his “post-graffiti” style.

Dream Big

• Address: 6805 Detroit Avenue (east side)
• Artist: Lisa Quine

This mural by former Clevelander Lisa Quine is eye-catching and definitely perfect for an Instagram pic. Unfortunately, as of April 2019, the area around the mural is still a bit of construction zone, and access to the mural is blocked by a fence. (You can still take photos of it, though!)

Cartoon mural

• Address: 6805 Detroit Avenue (west side)
• Artist: Justin Michael Will

This adorable mural by Cleveland Heights-based Justin Michael Will is one of my favorites in this neighborhood; it never fails to make me smile.

Banter mural

• Address: 7320 Detroit Avenue (corner of Detroit and W. 74th, on the side on Banter)
• Artist: Matthew Sweeney

Banter Beer and Wine is worth a visit as it is (beer! bratwurst! poutine!), but it’s extra worth visiting because of this beautiful mural.

It’s the work of Matthew Sweeney, a local artist known for his expressive drawings of hands. This mural has special meaning for him – he says it partially reflects when he and his wife lost their home to a fire in the same neighborhood in 2015.

DOWNTOWN MURALS

Oddly enough, there haven’t been a lot of new murals going up in downtown Cleveland recently. But did you know that one of the first mural projects in Cleveland dates all the way back to 1973? The City Canvases project that year resulted in 10 huge murals going up downtown. Sadly, most have them have faded away by now.

In the summer of 2018, a contemporary version of a similar mural project called Canvas City began along with FRONT International, once again bringing new murals downtown.

Julian Stanczak Mural

• Address: 1104 Prospect Ave. E (on the Winton Manor Apartments)
• Artist: Julian Stanczak

This mural is actually a recreation of one of the original City Canvas murals from the 70s, and was re-painted in the same spot as Julian Stanczak’s original, at the corner of Prospect and E. 9th. It’s sort of a trippy mural that might make you feel dizzy if you stare at it long enough.

DIVISIBILITY

• Address: 750 Prospect Ave.
• Artist: Kay Rosen

This one is certainly eye-catching as you walk down Prospect. And it’s meant to be. Artist Kay Rosen is known for graphically dramatic murals like this one that represent the stark divisions that currently exist in our society.

Constellation

• Address: 1212 Huron Road East (Halle Bros. Parking Garage)
• Artist: Odili Donald Odita

Found on one of the exterior walls of the Halle Bros. Parking Garage on Huron, this colorful architectural mural is the work of Nigeria-born artist Odili Donald Odita.

Jack Cleveland Casino Art Wall

• Address: Public Square
• Artist: Varies

You’ll find this mural at Public Square in the heart of downtown, on the back of the REBOL cafe. The image above was painted by Justin Michael Will (who was responsible for one of the Gordon Square murals, too), but the artwork featured here is rotating.

I’m not sure how frequently the artwork is swapped out, but it seems like at least a couple times per year.

ASIATOWN MURALS

While *almost* still downtown, these murals are a little further east, near the Asiatown neighborhood neighborhood.

Lady Noel mural

• Address: Corner of E 36th St & Euclid Ave.
• Artist: Lady Noel Designs

This beautiful, colorful mural is the work of Lauren Mckenzie-Noel, AKA Lady Noel. Mckenzie-Noel moved to Cleveland from Florida, and creates striking art that centers around identity, race, and womanhood.

This mural is on the side of a building across Euclid from the Cleveland Masonic Performance Arts Center.

Graffiti HeArt building

• Address: 4829 Superior Ave, Cleveland (corner of Superior and E 49th)
• Artist: Kelly “RISK” Graval

Graffiti HeArt is a local non-profit that’s contributed to many of the mural projects featured here. And, fittingly, their headquarters is a big splash of art itself!

They list this building as “Beautiful Destroyed” on their website, and the artist responsible is RISK, a Los Angeles-based artist who’s been working in the graffiti art medium for more than 30 years. RISK is know for his color-wash murals like this one.

Guardian

• Address: 4823 Superior Ave, Cleveland (see it from E 49th)
• Artist: Beau Stanton

This mural is just behind the colorful Graffiti HeArt building listed above, painted on the Fischer & Jirouch building just off Superior Ave. It was painted in the summer of 2020 by artist Beau Stanton, who was brought to the city by Graffiti HeArt.

The mural is an interpretation of Cleveland’s iconic “Guardians of Traffic,” which sit at both ends of the Hope Memorial Bridge.

COLLINWOOD MURALS

The East Side of Cleveland has some great mural art, too. In fact, the Waterloo Arts District in the Collinwood neighborhood was one of the first in Cleveland to really embrace murals and street art as part of its identity.

Many of these murals went up back in 2015 as part of the Zoetic Walls project, in partnership with Pawn Works in Chicago.

Weavers mural

• Address: 15326 Waterloo Rd, Cleveland
• Artist: Lynnea Holland-Weiss

This striking mural on Waterloo road is likely to catch you eye as you drive past. It was painted by Lynnea Holland-Weiss, a local Cleveland-based artist.

While I can’t find an official name of this mural, I did learn that the building it’s painted on is owned by a weaver. Apparently some of her designs inspired the end product here.

Atlas Against the Wall / Don’t Kill Your Lily

• Address: 15326 Waterloo Rd, Cleveland (side of the same building as the above mural)
• Artist: LNY

This piece by New Jersey-based artist Layqa Nuna Yawar (known as LNY) isn’t as flashy as some of the other murals along Waterloo, but that’s partly why I like it.

LNY calls New Jersey home now, but was born in Ecuador. His work often focuses on social justice topics, including the migrant/immigrant experience.

Description of the Union Workers

• Address: 15430 Waterloo Rd, Cleveland (corner of Waterloo and E 156th)
• Artist: Ever

Also installed as part of Zoetic Walls, this large mural is best visible from the Sunoco gas station parking lot at the corner of Waterloo and E 156. The mural is the work of Argentinian artist Ever, who has created murals all over the world.

Poplife building

• Address: 15619 Waterloo Road
• Artist: Camille Walala

In 2017, British muralist Camille Walala transformed the former Key Bank building on Waterloo Road into this eye-popping work of art. The building is now the headquarters of Poplife, a collaborative brand started by Jack Mueller that focuses on art, design, and wellness.

The building is painted on 3 sides, too.

OTHER EAST CLEVELAND MURALS

Our Lives Matter

• Address: Yale Ave. and E 105th
• Artist: Gary Williams and Robin Robinson

Painted after the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice, this 2015 work at the corner of E 105th and Yale is still striking. It features a Black family, with one of the children holding a sign that says “Our lives matter.”

The work was painted by Cleveland artists Gary Williams and Robin Robinson.

Vote! mural

• Address: 9107 St Clair Ave. (corner of St. Clair and E 91st)
• Artists: Gary Williams, Robin Robinson, and David Hayes

Painted in 2020 before the election, this eye-catching mural was painted by Gary Williams, Robin Robinson, and David Hayes. Leading up to the election, volunteers used the yard in front of the mural to offer voter registration services.

It was a community project that involved the Glenville Boys and Girls Club, Cleveland Police Department Black Shield Club, Sankofa Fine Arts Plus, Famicos Foundation, and others.

Maya Angelou mural

• Address: 11701 Buckeye Rd, Cleveland (corner of Buckeye Rd. and E 117th)
• Artists: mr.soul and others

Located on the side of Nikki’s Music in Buckeye-Shaker, this mural of poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou is worth seeing. It was painted as part of the Inner City Hues project by LAND Studios, which installed neighborhood-driven artwork in Buckeye-Shaker and Mt. Pleasant.

This mural is the work of Cleveland artists Kevin “mr.soul” Harp, with the help of other members of the Cleveland Skribe Tribe (a local graffiti artists group) and local teens.

Come Together

• Address: 4490 Mayfield Road, South Euclid
• Artist: Lisa Quine

One of the newest murals in Cleveland, this beautiful work is by one of my favorite local muralists, Lisa Quine. The mural is on the side of the House of Swing jazz club in South Euclid, and is absolutely beautiful.

The mural went up in August 2019, and was sponsored by the city’s community development corporation One South Euclid.

This side of the building faces a neighboring CVS parking lot, which is where I recommend pulling in if you want to see it.

Black Lives Matter street mural

• Address: E 93rd between Bessemer and Heath
• Artists: Various

After the 2020 death of George Floyd and the ensuing protests against police brutality all across America, several cities began putting down Black Lives Matter murals on city streets. Cleveland, too, joined in on the trend, choosing to place the first one along a corridor of E. 93rd that has been plagued by unsolved violent crimes against (mostly) Black women in recent years.

The project was organized by Ricky Smith of RAKE and Graffit HeArt, and brought together dozens of artists and volunteers, who painted the entire mural in 10 hours in June 2020. Each letter is a unique work of art.

OTHER CLEVELAND AREA MURALS

Welcome to Tremont

• Address: 2630 West 14th Street (Tremont)
• Artists: Vic Savage and Alan Giberson

The “Welcome to Tremont” mural was new in 2018, painted on the side of the Tremont Convenience Mart by local artists Vic Savage and Alan Giberson. It was sponsored by Graffiti HeArt, which provides arts scholarships to underserved Cleveland youth.

Cleveland Hopkins mural

• Address: 5300 Riverside Drive (directly across from the main terminal’s lower level exit)
• Artist: Terran Washington

Last year, a new 500-foot-long mural went up at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The colorful, cartoon-y mural depicts many of the things Cleveland is famous for, from Superman to Playhouse Square.

The mural was installed with the help of Destination Cleveland, the city’s tourism board, and virtually every visitor coming to Cleveland will see it when they exit the airport.

Road to Freedom

• Address: 90 Willis St, Bedford, OH
• Artists: Stina Aleah, Davon Brantley, and Christa Childs

Painted on a long building across the street from the Bedford Post Office, this 2020 mural was inspired by the Underground Railroad, which Bedford played a role in. The mural features images of fleeing enslaved people, the face of Harriet Tubman, and the likeness of Julius Caesar Tibbs, who escaped from a plantation in Virginia and found freedom in Bedford.

It was painted by several local artists Stina Aleah, Davon Brantley, and Christa Childs, and was funded by the Bedford Downtown Alliance, Graffiti HeArt, and Crossroads Universal.

Sabor Miami Cafe mural

• Address: 4848 Broadview Rd, Cleveland
• Artist: Cafe owners

This isn’t a big, “official” mural like most of the others on this list, but it’s still a bright spot I think is worth mentioning. Painted during the first wave of pandemic lockdowns in 2020, it’s on the outside wall of the Sabor Miami Cafe and Gallery.

This little spot serves up delicious Cuban food inside an art-filled space.

NOTE: These are not ALL of the murals or works of street art in Cleveland – just some of the most popular and eye-catching ones. I’ll continue to add to this list as more murals go up in the city, and as I visit more of them!

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Do you have any favorite murals in Cleveland?

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