Former Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory participated in a city exchange in Philadelphia in 2007. He received a behind-the-scenes peek at their citywide painting program, which has completed over 3,000 murals in the last 30 years.
Mallory returned to Cincinnati, inspired and amazed, and challenged the local art organization ArtWorks to create a mural in each of the city’s 52 neighborhoods.
Artworks started to work right quickly, employing a group of young and skilled artists who painted nine paintings in 2007 alone, in areas such as Walnut Hills, Northside, Roselawn, Downtown, and others.
ArtWorks has painted 147 murals in 42 Cincinnati neighborhoods and seven surrounding communities. These paintings give Queen City an extra layer of personality and liven up the neighborhoods in a variety of ways.
Our Favorite Murals in Cincinnati
Paintings can be seen all around the city, but the most intense concentration can be found in Downtown and Over-The-Rhine, where there seems to be one on virtually every block. ArtWorks has also prepared a handy PDF map that gives the position and name of every mural in the Downtown and OTR areas, so you can go on a self-guided tour of the murals whenever you choose.
ArtWorks also offers guided mural tours, in which they take you throughout the city and explain the background behind each painting, which usually includes some interesting Cincinnati history.
Although there are 147 murals throughout the city, we believe that a handful of them stand out. The following are 11 of our favorite murals:
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