Pennsylvania's Most Legendary Street Art Is One Of America's 'Largest Single-Artist Mural Projects'

Philadelphia is a vibrant city to traverse, due in large part to its unique outdoor public works of art that include over 4,300 murals which grace its buildings, doorways, and even street poles. The rich tradition began in the 1980s when the city was searching for a way to reduce graffiti and landed on the idea of encouraging taggers to spray paint murals instead of "vandalizing" properties. When Philadelphia native and former graffiti writer Steve Powers was commissioned by the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, a city initiative that unites artists and neighborhoods by reinvigorating public spaces and providing opportunities for community members, he also wanted to express his love for the city by creating murals that would resonate with Philly residents. With the help of over 40 artists under his direction and spanning 50 murals in total, he successfully created one of the largest single-artist mural projects in America and arguably one of the most heartfelt art tours in Philadelphia.

"A Love Letter For You" is an apt title for the iconic, large-scale murals that are essentially giant banners expressing one's heart. Romantic pleas in the vein of John Cusack from "Say Anything" are splashed on the rooftops between 45th to 63rd Streets, one of which announces "Knocked on your door," while another declares "For what I want I can wait," and yet another lays it all out there with "Miss you too often not to love you." What's so great, but perhaps not surprising as Philadelphia is the cheapest place to be a tourist in America, is how accessible seeing the murals are. They essentially cost the price of a ticket on the Market Frankford El and a ride on the train between 52nd and 63rd passes by most of them.  

Although many of the murals seem to tell a very personal story that Steve Powers is letting us in on about him and someone he loved, he confessed to Curbed Philadelphia that his vision was to relate to West Philly residents in a universal way by providing "something for the people that take the train every day" and something that's "gonna reflect all these huge ideals."

Indeed, some of the pieces reflect those ideals, spreading general positivity with paintings saying "high five" and "see me like I see you: beautiful," while others seem to speak directly to the community, one using a play on words referencing a street name: "Meet me on fifty-second if only for fifty seconds."

Although Powers admits there is no rhyme or reason in terms of where the murals are placed, part of the fun is trying to piece them together. Some are labeled with hashtags plus a number, indicating how they are ordered in a particular series, and if you're up for a longer adventure you can always get off the train and walk the streets while you try to put them together and discover additional pieces you can't see from the train platform. If you decide to stay on the train, it only takes 10 to 15 minutes, but either way, you will get the sense that you have witnessed something special and unique to the city.

When Steve Powers, aka Espo, finished "A Love Letter For You," he was just getting started expressing affection for his city. In another mural which is a colorful outpouring for the city that shaped him, Powers got straight to the point by naming it "Philadelphia." In a medley of Philly-specific references, Powers pays homage to the city's history, local legends, and famous icons.

By no means an exhaustive list, some of the writing and images on the mural have been decoded for those of us not in the know. You may be able to guess that the image depicting a key and lightning bolt refers to Benjamin Franklin when he conducted his famed experiment on electricity in a thunderstorm. However, the depiction of a recorder may be harder to discern if you aren't familiar with 'the flute lady,' a local musician about whom residents disagree on whether she played the kazoo or a 'flutophone.'

Names of even more famous Philly musicians  grace the mural, including Sun Ra, a legendary cosmic jazz band leader, whose name is written below "Coltrane"  that references the jazz legend who is so famous his first name, "John," doesn't need to be included. You can gaze upon "Philadelphia" on the wall of a tattoo place at 44 South 2nd Street in Old City, a historic neighborhood voted one of the best places to visit on a vacation to Philadelphia.