Arts & Entertainment Community

Day Tripper | Exploring the myriad murals of Tacoma

Posted on April 29th, 2026 By: Mary Williams

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 15 months since we visited the Downtown Tacoma Theatre District.

Back in 2024, we paid a visit to McMenamins Elk Temple, Opera Alley and the Saint Helens/Broadway/Commerce streets area. That was the first time I noticed one of the huge murals that I now know the Tacoma area is noted for.

At the time, I promised you I’d come back to learn more about that mural and to check out others. I reported — erroneously, it seems — that 35 of them were scattered around town, created between 2010 and 2017.

Elements of that statement are true. But I’ve since learned that there are far more than 35 of them, and while many of them were created during that window, they seem to come and go. Some are much older and new ones are added every year. In fact, coming up with an accurate count seems just about impossible, somewhat like hitting a moving target.

Art on an art store

That first mural, the one that initially piqued my interest, is on the side of a building just south of the corner of Sixth and Saint Helens avenues. Originally known as the Mandarin Antiques building, it now houses Tacoma Artists and Craftsman Supply.

A mural on the side of a building near the corner of Sixth and Saint Helens avenues in Tacoma. Photo by Mary Williams

The artistry displayed in all of the murals I found kind of snuck up on me. As I investigated, I realized that darn near every surface, all around town, has one form of artwork or another. Taken in its entirety, the region is a veritable outdoor art museum.

A hard fact of life is that by their nature, murals are exposed to the elements. Season after season of rain, sun and wind take their toll. Many murals I found seem to be fading. This one, on the side of a building on North 30th Street in Ruston, is a good example of what happens to a mural each winter.

Exposed to the weather, murals tend to fade. Photo by Mary Williams

Other causes also can lead to their disappearance. While many of the murals I discovered have been around for a very long time, others seem to come and go, based on a number of factors.

Aging gracefully

Based on available records, the oldest existing publicly accessible traditional mural in downtown Tacoma is Wyland’s Washington Orcas, on the Bowes Building on the southwest corner of Ninth and A streets. Created and dedicated in 1990 as part of Wayland’s Whaling Walls series, it features a pod of orcas and Mount Rainier. At 102 feet by 45 feet, the mural fills the entire side of the building. (Check out the tag toward the bottom that had not yet been repaired when this picture was taken.)

Wyland’s Washington Orcas, on the Bowes Building on the southwest corner of Ninth and A streets. Photo by Mary Williams

Wyland is the oldest large-scale mural in the city center, but even older works known as ghost signs predate the whales by many years. A ghost sign is advertising that was painted directly on brick. These are particularly prevalent in the downtown area.

A ghost sign in downtown Tacoma. Photo by Mary Williams

Another example of an older mural used to identify a business and its focus is on the side of Kings Books on Broadway.

King’s Books in Tacoma. Photo by Mary Williams

The Sixth Avenue business district offers many other examples. Businesses often used smaller murals to provide address information.

Others included additional details such as the nature of the business or a featured product. One good example is the Doyle’s sign located in Old Town near Wright’s Park.

Doyle’s in downtown Tacoma. Photo by Mary Williams

Tacoma Murals Project

Its hard to determine a chronological history of Tacoma’s murals because they have been created by individual artists, community groups and businesses over many decades. The Tacoma Murals Project, a community-driven effort to beautify the area, had a secondary purpose. Research shows detailed murals discourage tagging compared to plain walls.

Begun around 2010, the city of Tacoma’s Municipal Art Program primarily funded the Murals Project. A 1% for Public Art ordinance — which mandates that 1% of construction costs from public capital projects be dedicated to public art — sustains it.

The Murals Project divides funding between three major categories of artwork: statuary, murals, and utility box covers.

The project was launched to coordinate and professionalize mural-making throughout the city. The city’s public arts program manager, Marissa Laubscher, coordinates it.

The project’s website includes information and a tool that I found to be valuable: A comprehensive database that provides information about each category and each piece of art. While the statuary is amazing, and many of the utility box covers tell a story, I decided to limit this investigation to murals.

Since I was fascinated by that mural on St. Helens, I decided to look that one up first.

Here is the website listing for that work:

Theater District Mural

616 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma
Directions | Zoom | Street View
Add to my Itinerary? Yes

Oswald, Natalie
Category: Mural
Medium: Paint on concrete
Dimensions: 75’ (W) x 30’ (H)
Year Created: 2013
Location: North wall of Mandarin Antuques. (sic)
Agency: Tacoma Murals Project

Mural covers the north wall of the Mandarin Antiques building and welcomes visitors to the Theater District. Imagery depicts swallows with theater masks flying out of a port crane, dancing cranes wearing ballet slippers, and crows with opera glasses. Part of the Tacoma Murals Project.

Keeping updated

The website allows users to select up to nine murals at a time. A quick click of the mouse creates a viewing itinerary and provides turn-by-turn directions.

I asked Laubscher about the database. She advised me that it is not up-to-date. When she learns of a needed change, she makes it, but there’s no formal process in place right now to ensure accurate information.

She added that the city plans to conduct an inventory of artwork this summer, after which she will make required additions, deletions, and corrections. Take it from me – Laubscher has her work cut out for her.

Laubscher also explained that the murals are protected by application of specialized anti-graffiti coatings. These clear, protective layers act as a barrier, allowing taggers’ paint to be removed without damaging the original artwork underneath.

While I loved the database, I found this whole project to be like trying to hit a moving target. In fact, for me it ended up being about a half-dozen daytrips.

Using the database, I selected the first nine murals I wanted to check out. On trip No. 1 across the bridge, I could only find four of them — but I found a whole bunch more I wanted to research. Back to the computer and dataabase.

I repeated that process several times. Rather than create an itinerary for you, I decided to just share my experiences and then send you to the database to design your own personal treasure hunt. I have a feeling that once you start exploring, your journey will find its own path.

Here are a few of my favorites and a tidbit of information about each of them:

Mary Mann and more

One of my favorites is a dragon with a ball in its mouth on a wall at the corner of South Yakima Street and 48th Avenue. Mary Mann painted “Dragon with Poppies,” one of the newer murals in town, in 2024. Wedderman Architecture commissioned it at its headquarters. The neighboring building is a closed and fenced-off convenience store on the corner, making access to the mural difficult. Nonetheless, I think its really worth visiting.

Mary Mann’s “Dragon with Poppies. Photo by Mary Williams

Another Mary Mann mural, one of her first, painted in 2002, is on the side of Tacoma Little Theater near the corner of Division and I streets.

A Mary Mann mural on the Tacoma Little Theater near the corner of Division and I streets. Photo by Mary Williams

As I headed back to the Harbor, I came across another mural that warranted investigation. Sir-Amicks was the name of a ceramics business that occupied most of the building on the corner of Sheridan Avenue and 56th Street. An impressive mural by Kenji Stoll and Chris Jordan and their team now graces the side of the building.

A mural by Kenji Stoll and Chris Jordan. Photo by Mary Williams

Sixth Avenue

The next trip across the bridge was to explore the murals on Sixth Avenue. The first I found, just down the street from the Tacoma Musical Playhouse and the library, is on the rear side of Crescent Moon Gifts at 6901 Sixth Ave. It features a fantasy-themed mural by Rob Carlos, with Alice in Wonderland-style imagery. A very impressive work, I’m sure most people never see it. It’s really hard to find if you don’t know to look for it. If you didn’t go around to the back of the store, you’ll miss it.

A mural by Rob Carlos with Alice in Wonderland imagery. Photo by Mary Williams

My next stop was the corner of Sixth Avenue and Cedar Street, the site of what for many years was the Old Milwaukee Café. The café is no more. It’s now the Balcon X (Balcon Express), but, fortunately, the mural that graced its exterior for decades survives.

A mural on the side of Balcon X on Sixth Avenue in Tacoma. Photo by Mary Williams

There are too many murals on Sixth to include here. You can find one just about anywhere you look, particularly around the area between Proctor and Sprague.

Hilltop neighborhood

The Hilltop area is also so full of murals that it is impossible to tell you about all or even most of them. You know you’re in the right place when you come across the mural that announces the Hilltop area.

A mural in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood. Photo by Mary Williams

Another of my favorites is this little girl playing with her new friend. Painted in 2010 by Jeremy Gregory, it is at South 23rd Street and MLK Jr. Way, and features depictions of Hilltop community leaders Reverend Ivory Crittendon and Morris “Mr. Mac” McCollum handing out books and toys to children.

A mural in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood. Photo by Mary Williams

A Black history mural pays tribute to the leaders of the civil rights movement in Tacoma. Bob Henry created it as part of the 2010 Murals Project at 1145 MLK Way. This mural memorializes key contributors to the Hilltop Community, including Alberta J. Canada, Ernest E. Brazil, Frank Russell and Virginia Taylor.

A Black history mural in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood. Photo by Mary Williams

Still more murals

Everywhere I looked, I spotted another mural I wanted to check out. Here are a few I suggest you take a look at:

Another huge mural commemorating Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is on the side of a building bordering a parking lot at 1116 Market St. Also known as the Alice in Wonderland Graffiti Wall, a group of local artists completed it in the spring of 2010.

The Alice in Wonderland graffiti wall. Photo by Mary Williams

A mural depicting the early use of the area as a thriving farmer’s market, accessible by streetcar, is in People’s Park at 924 Ninth St. Mary Mann, Joan Joachims and Jodi Ewin painted it.

A mural by Mary Mann, Joan Joachims and Jodi Ewin in Tacoma’s People’s Park. Photo by Mary Williams

This colorful design by Mindy Barker is on an exterior wall at the Cedar River Clinic at 14th Street and MLK Jr. Way.

This colorful design by Mindy Barker is on an exterior wall at the Cedar River Clinic at 14th Street and MLK Jr. Way. Photo by Mary Williams

Opera Alley

I concluded this particular day at Opera Alley. It technically is Court C, a narrow street running between Seventh and Ninth streets behind Broadway, just a block up the hill from the Elk Temple. It got its nickname because in the 19th century it ran directly behind the historic Tacoma Theater on Broadway — the city’s premier opera house and entertainment hub. Current businesses are primarily restaurants and cafes.

A mural in Opera Alley. Photo by Mary Williams

Working Forward

It was time to head back to Gig Harbor, but on the way to Highway 16 I spotted one more mural I felt compelled to stop and see. Working Forward, Weaving Anew was not an easy mural to access, view or photograph. Part of the revitalization of the Prairie Line Trail, it is located on the back of the 7 Seas Brewery and Taproom at 2101 Jefferson Ave. It was only accessible using a service road behind the Hilton Garden Inn at 2102 S. C St.

The only problem was that entry was prohibited at both ends so the picture below had to be taken through a tall, thoroughly padlocked chain link fence. The city of Tacoma and the Washington State Heritage Capital Projects Fund commissioned the 13,000-square-foot mural. Muralists are Jessilyn Brinkerhoff and Esteban Camacho Steffensen using acrylic paint and metal.

Working Forward by Jessilyn Brinkerhoff and Esteban Camacho Steffensen. Photo by Mary Williams

The mural is a tribute to the Puyallup Tribe of Indians who thrived by fishing, hunting, and harvesting while preserving the natural environment. Master weavers, they created many items from cedar bark and roots including baskets used for cooking, gathering clams, and other daily tasks.

Somehow my list of nine became a baker’s dozen. I could have easily included another dozen. I hope you’ll take a short daytrip across the bridge and make a list of favorites of your own.

1% For the Arts

But as they say on TV, “Wait! There’s more!” Earlier, I mentioned my descent down the rabbit hole. As so often happens with these investigation, I find that the hole leads into an entire warren of things I want to check out.

This time, learning about the Tacoma Municipal Arts program and how its 1% for the arts is funded and spent led me to information about corresponding Pierce County and the Washington state projects.

The state project is expansive. ArtsWA is Washington State’s program to fund art in public places. Established in 1974, the program works to ensure that our state’s public spaces are beautiful, welcoming and inspirational. The state art collection is a $50 million fund that has invested in over 5,000 artworks in more than 1,300 locations statewide.

Pierce County’s project is newer and significantly smaller. Right now, it is developing three mural projects. Rather than investigate them now, I’ve decided to wait and visit them as side trips when I’m in their area.

I’m planning stories in Puyallup and Spanaway in future months, so be on the lookout for more info about the murals of Pierce County soon.

About the Day Tripper column

Gas prices are sky high, and a night in a hotel is approaching astronomically expensive. So, for the foreseeable future, I imagine many of you are going to find yourselves taking day trips rather than the road trip vacations we’ve grown to love.

This beautiful region in which we live is ripe with opportunities to explore new places, see new things, and learn a little something at the same time. I promise to keep the longest journeys to a one-way distance of under 200 miles. Whether you want to make it an overnight trip, a weekend, or just a very long day trip, we should be able to pull it off.

I hope you’ll grant me the honor of your virtual company as we travel these roads together. Happy trails!