Philadelphia has been called the Mural Capital of the World, with good reason. Some of the public artworks are privately funded, but the majority (3,100 and growing) come from the city's Mural Arts Program. To educate residents and visitors on the significance of these towering works of creativity, the Mural Arts Program is teaming with notable bars on Thursday evenings for hour and a half booze-fueled walking tours ($30 a person).
The Ale & Arts Walking Adventure's point of departure rotates between McGillin's Olde Ale House [1310 Drury Street], Dirty Frank's [347 South 13th Street], and Field House [1150 Filbert St]. We started at the Field House, a 13,000-square foot convention center monster with all the character of a Ruby Tuesday or an Applebee's localized with Phillies and Eagles posters. The two-story space was formerly home to the Independence Brew Pub. When Field House took it over in 2008, the old brewing room was replaced with a VIP lounge — now the only thing fermenting there is corporate ennui.
Tour goers were given a ticket for one free brew at Field House; the selection included the usual domestics and a few good locals like Yards and Victory. Shortly after, our guides split the 35 or so mural arts patrons into two groups. I chugged my beer (drinking stays indoors) and joined those led by Tishe Byrne. For Byrne, a muralist herself having put brush to wall in Philly and other art meccas around the country, this is a passion.
The barrage of mural factoids and tidbits began a few feet from the Field House door with our first mural by artists A. Michael Webb, Peter Pagast, and Brian Senft depicting Reading Terminal Station's past and present.
The murals covered on the tour range from 10 ft. x 10 ft. squares to three story backdrops. Many showcase a topic, person or theme of local significance like the 30 ft. Dr. J , or social change like Women in Progress: The New Century Guild. Other murals have a more cerebral appeal, like David Guinn's Spring [1315 Pine St.]. Guinn uses a soft spring color pallet with a background of cubic abstraction to strike they eye, yet the mural blends seamlessly as he mimics the living trees beside his three-story canvas. If ever a concrete slab could feel like a quaint spot in the woods, the corner parking lot on 13th and Pine achieves such a feat. Spring does as a mural should, combating dismal urban landscapes with reminders of inherent beauty.
Making our way to McGillin's Olde Ale House, Tishe spotted a few muralists at work on scaffolding in the alley on 13th and Ludlow. The unscheduled stop offered an impromptu lesson on the evolution of the mural process. Lead artist Josh Sarantitis explained: “We're painting the mural onto parachute cloth. The first half is already on display at the Central Library, and we'll bring it over when we've finished the section we're working on now.”
Painting directly on a wall to create a mural is often costly. The Duron paint used can run upwards of $200 a gallon. Some construction materials are heavily absorbent, necessitating large quantities of this expensive medium. It also means that if a building is torn down or renovated, the work may be lost.
The mural, entitled Finding Home, was designed by homeless individuals in the shelter system, and it became an outcry for sympathetic solidarity with a slogan reading “Dignity, I Am You Are Me Together.” Finding Home is exemplary of the Mural Arts Program's role in social activism, spurring Byrne to detail the organization's roots, further delaying the next cold brew as we stewed in the mounting heat of summer.
The Mural Arts Program was officially founded in 1996, but began as part of the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network in 1986. Muralist Jane Golden was hired to introduce mural arts to graffiti artists in underserved neighborhoods, empowering them to take an active role in community improvement. The Spring Garden Bridge was the first project, but it came before any major funding. The (then titled) Anti-Graffiti Network used leftover house paint for the initial mural. Unfortunately, the city recently removed the bridge mural, instead opting for the lively aesthetic of reflective aluminum paneling.
Since its first project, Mural Arts has gone on to revitalize countless neglected communities, educate an estimated 2,000 at-risk youth each year in mural arts, and provide fine art skills training for the homeless and incarcerated. In the process, the program has turned Philadelphia into a city of murals. But it's also a city of impatient drinkers; our pace quickened en route to the next bar stop.
McGillin's Olde Ale House is Philadelphia's oldest operating tavern, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year with a commemorative 1860 IPA by Stoudt's Brewing Company. It's a back alley pub as rich in cultural tradition as any part of the city. In the 19th century it played a key role in Philadelphia's theater scene by offering a place for stage notables, like the Barrymores, to slip out the back door of a Broad Street playhouse during intermission and throw back a few. Thanks to McGillin’s, the thespian arts flowed more freely in the second half.
The walk finished at a watering hole with no official signage or name; unofficially known as Dirty Frank's. This Washington Square West dive, frequented by intellectuals, transients, artists, laborers, and all those in between, married the premise of booze and art for a perfect ending. The exterior of the building is a mural depicting famous Franks (from Frankenstein to Zappa) by muralist David McShane. The first steps inside reveal decorative chaos with paper snowflakes strewn from much of the ceiling and beer paraphernalia, posters, and old flyers overrunning the front wall; only to find the sharp contrast of the pristine rear wall selling the work of local artists. This last stop offered two free beers, bringing the total to four. You can quit there; I didn't.
“How many times I've walked by these and never really taken notice,” said Philadelphia local David Ames, over a post-tour $2 Yuengling draft. I couldn't have agreed more.
Free maps are available to create your own tour, but at $30 for four beers and a knowledgeable guide the organized tour is worth the cost, especially if you go with Tishe Byrne. In addition to the Ale & Arts Walking Adventure, the Mural Arts Program also offers a trolley tour, and a Murals and Meals evening. You can also make a donation; at $15,000-$25,000 per mural and the continued threat of budget cuts, the Mural Arts Program could use the support.
Trevor Dye is a freelance journalist covering all things thrifty, diy, green, and vegetarian. He resides in West Philly and moonlights as a yoga teacher. His work has appeared on Brokelyn.com.
Article photograph by author, "Veg' Head" photograph from dustinj, via Flickr (Creative Commons), "Philly" photograph from camardella, via Flickr (Creative Commons).
