Marvelous Murals in the City: Take a Self-Guided Walking Tour or Join the Belltown Art Walk on September 13

Artists Ariel Parrow and Sean Hamilton work on ‘Save it for Today’ – a vibrant mural on Fire Station 2 in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Photo courtesy of Downtown Seattle Association.

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At-a-glance:

More than 30 new murals have come to life in and around Downtown Seattle, from Belltown to SODO to the Chinatown-International District.
Created by skilled artists, the murals are a new public amenity we want people to discover, engage with, and enjoy.
You can see them first-hand via a self-guided walking tour. Earlier this week, we installed new decals on sidewalks in Belltown to highlight a walking route (see more details below).
You can also join the next Belltown Art Walk on Friday, September 13 from 6 to 9 PM, taking place throughout the Belltown neighborhood. No advanced registration is required.
The Downtown Mural Project is made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and its Hope Corps program which provides funding grants to support artists and community-based organizations.
This initiative is part of Mayor Harrell’s Downtown Activation Plan to revitalize and reinvigorate the greater Downtown Seattle area.

Mural enthusiasts, this is your time – come down to Belltown and enjoy some of Seattle’s newest and finest public art in the heart of the city. Here’s how you can participate.

A mural is painted onto a large stairway in the city, with tall buildings, trees, and water visible in the background. Black pavement is visible to the lower right corner. — *Sarah Robbins’ mural at Lenora Walkway features beautiful ocean life and shapes with a view of Elliott Bay in the background. Photo courtesy of Austin Wilson.*

Attend the Belltown Art Walk on September 13

Taking place the second Friday of every month, the Belltown Art Walk is a great way to check out art in Belltown first-hand, including the new murals.

You can participate this Friday, September 13 from 6 to 9 PM throughout Belltown.

It’s a free, self-guided, all-ages event hosted by a volunteer- and donations-driven nonprofit charity serving artists, the community, and the Belltown neighborhood.

You can also check out the art at a gallery show titled ‘Walls Out’ which is located at Base Camp Studios 2 (formerly Bergman Luggage) in Downtown Seattle. The gallery display is open through Saturday, September 14. Learn more online here.

A large colorful mural on the side of a large building in the city. A large gorilla is looking at a young person painted in purple, blue, orange, and red. An artist works to add paint on the right side of the images. Tall buildings are in the background. — *‘Welcome to Belltown’ mural by Brady Black and Myron Curry. The finishing touches come together on the mural located near 3rd Ave and Bell St. Photo courtesy of Downtown Seattle Association.*

Take a walking tour anytime

Feeling more independent? You can enjoy the murals on your own schedule via a new walking route we’ve laid out in Belltown. Check out the short video, map, and sidewalk decal shown below – all of which can help you easily find your way to enjoy the murals.

Take a walking tour through Belltown to see some of the murals shown in this 30-second video. Video: SDOT

Map showing the locations of more than a dozen murals in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood, around 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th avenues between Clay St to the north and Lenora St to the south. The walking route is shown with a dotted blue line, and the mural locations are shown in orange stars. — *Map of mural locations and self-guided walking route in Belltown. Graphic: SDOT.*

We placed new decals on sidewalks in the Belltown neighborhood to help people find and enjoy the murals. Graphic: SDOT.

How to get downtown by transit

We encourage you to consider taking transit to reach the murals in Belltown and Downtown Seattle. Downtown is served by Link light rail and buses from all over Seattle and the region.

To plan your trip, visit Sound Transit’s trip planner, King County Metro’s trip planner, or other tools like Google Maps or OneBusAway to find the most convenient transit route for you.

You can also consider biking, scooting, walking, or rolling if it works for your trip. Learn more on our Bike and Scooter Share website.

More about the artists

Local artists are at the core of this work. Their talents and creative inspiration have brought the new art to life. Here are a few photos highlighting several of the artists behind the new murals.

We encourage you to read more here about artists participating in the Downtown Mural Project – and check out more of their work.

A woman smiles into the camera while standing in front of a large mural showing a waterfall, trees, and other plants. She is wearing a hat, scarf, and black sweatshirt. — *Artist Nalisha Estrellas smiles in front of one of her mural creations.* *Photo courtesy of Nalisha Estrellas*.

A man with a paintbrush works on a large mural. He is smiling and wearing glasses and a black sweatshirt. — *Artist Brady Black smiles as he reaches up to add light blue paint to one of his outdoor murals.* *Photo courtesy of Brady Black*.

A woman smiles while looking at the camera and standing in front of a colorful mural. Her arms are crossed and she is wearing a black t-shirt. — *Artist Stevie Shao smiles in front of one of her completed murals.* *Photo courtesy of Stevie Shao*.

Check out this quick 2-minute video highlighting several murals, artists, and community organizers from the Belltown Mural Festival held in August. Video courtesy of Films About Artists via YouTube.

More about the Downtown Activation Plan

Seattle’s Downtown Activation Plan is a roadmap to revitalize and transform Downtown Seattle now and for the future. You can find more details in this blog post from Mayor Harrell.

“Our Downtown Activation Plan includes a strong focus on making neighborhoods vibrant, engaging, and welcoming, including through an expansion of murals and public art. Through this festival and the new murals in Belltown, we hope residents and visitors will visit Downtown to see the creative and innovative spirit of our city, as well as come together, connect, and see themselves as part of Seattle’s tapestry,” – Mayor Bruce Harrell

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