In search of free things to do in Houston that combine exercise with terrific views? Stroll around the city and treat your eyes to visions of Houston murals and street art that’s rich with variety, vitality and connection to Bayou City stories.
“Houston’s street art and street art community reflect the diversity of Houston itself, with people who come from all different backgrounds and ethnicities,” said Emily Ding, a Houston born and raised Chinese American artist whose murals are among more than 1,000 outdoor artworks appearing around town.
If you’re in search of the perfect Instagram background or just want to get out see the city, we’ve put together a sampling of Houston’s most vibrant urban murals, along with some art scene insights.
How do I find Houston’s murals?
You may be wondering where to begin your mural hunt through H-Town. Use the “Find it” listings below and the excellent Houston Mural Map that was launched by UP Art Studio during the COVID pandemic. Then, click on the map’s pins for locations, pictures and artist backgrounds for more than 1,000 Houston public artworks.
A large-scale mural for Big Art. Bigger Change. exhibit by street artist Case Maclaim in downtown Houston, Texas.
Quentin Durand
Big Art. Bigger Change.
Downtown’s 10 super-sized murals debuted October 2022, with seven more to come. The project was sponsored by business and civic groups and curated by international nonprofit Street Art for Mankind. CASE Maclaim’s bicyclist looms on a high-rise; Houstonian Ana Marietta‘s (aka Ana María) “Sharing the World” infuses a block with romance, Victor Ash’s horse bucks on the Sam Houston Hotel; and Carlos Alberto GH’s Houston wildlife scene looks 3D.
Gracing a side of the Four Seasons Hotel Houston, “Loving Houston” is “a tribute to home, to Houston, to Texas,” explains Emily Ding about her meticulously painted billowing clouds, live oak trees, mockingbirds, bluebonnets and wild grasses.
Download the project’s interactive app for Apple IOS or Android for locations and background info. There’s also a simple walking tour map here. Other downtown must-see art includes an entire building covered with Sebastien Boileau’s Downtown Mars scenes—complete with an Astro dog.
Find them:
CASE Maclaim’s “Social Equity” bicyclist: Scanlan Building, 405 Main St., Houston, TX 77002
Ana Marietta’s “Sharing the World”: Cotton Exchange Building, 202 Travis St., Houston, TX 77002
Emily Ding’s “Loving Houston:” Four Seasons Hotel Houston wall on 1115 Austin St., Houston, TX 77002
Victor Ash’s “Human Rights” horse: Sam Houston Hotel, 1117 Prairie St., Houston, TX 77002
Carlos Alberto GH’s ” Hope for a Greener Future”: SW corner of Fannin Street and Dallas Street, Houston, TX 77002
Sebastien Boileau’s Downtown Mars: 1301 Leeland St. and Caroline St., Houston, TX 77002
This mural called #McDHoustonWall by Houston artist Gonzo247 is at the corner of St. Emanuel and Bell streets in Houston, Texas.
Courtesy of Robin Soslow, Special to Chron
Houston Graffiti Park
This outdoor gallery filling EaDo industrial blocks features huge, local, icon-inspired images and graffiti. A favorite selfie backdrop: the 25 by 100-foot #C on which an astronaut hand-signals “I Heart Houston” surrounded by fries and other fast-food images. A locally owned McDonalds commissioned legendary Houston born and raised aerosol artist GONZO247 (Mario Figueroa) to do this wall.
Figueroa also created the oft-photographed “Houston is Inspired” mural facing Market Square Park downtown. Musicians loom large here; find Lee Washington’s wall honoring Port Arthur rapper and record producer Pimp C and Houston rapper Big Moe at EaDo’s Houston Graffiti Building.
Find them:
GONZO247’s #McDHoustonWall: Corner of St. Emanuel Street and Bell Street, Houston, TX 77003
Houston Graffiti Building and the rappers mural: 1503 Chartres St., Houston, TX 77003
Houston artist Emily Ding’s mural at Railroad Art Alley near St. Arnold Brewery just north of downtown Houston in Northside.
Courtesy of Robin Soslow, Special to Chron
Mural collections gracing Houston
Railroad Art Alley
Visit this collection near St. Arnold’s Brewing, just north of downtown in Northside, during daylight hours to see Ana Marietta’s enchanting human/animal hybrid; Emily Ding and Helena Martin’s bird dreamscape; graffiti artist and muralist Scott Tarbox‘s trippin’ dog; and Erik Del Rio’s floating astronaut.
Find them: Elysian, Opelousas and Maury Streets, Houston, TX 77020
The huge outdoor public art collection at the Woodlands
Alex Katz’s hand-painted 35,000-square-foot flower mural frames a pocket park across from the Westin. Nearby, beneath the Waterway Avenue Bridge, Dixie Friend Gay’s glass tile mosaic masterpieces depict southeast Texas wildlife and her iridescent tiles reflect the flowing Woodlands Waterway.
Find them:
Alex Katz’s flower mural: across from the Westin Woodlands at 2 Waterway Square Pl., The Woodlands, TX 77380
Dixie Friend Gay’s artworks: Waterway Avenue Bridge and Waterway Square, The Woodlands, TX 77380
UP Art Studio co-founder Elia Quiles also suggests walking or bicycling in these areas to see murals painted by local and international street artists during the November 2022 Big Walls Big Dreams festival.
Arts District Houston
According to Quiles, Arts District Houston, in the First and Sixth Wards, also has hundreds of studio spaces and the highest concentration of working artists in Texas. It includes Sawyer Yards at the Art Alley, where MrDheo’s cool new “Houston, we have a problem” astronaut wall appears.
Find them:
Big Walls Big Dream detailed map: multiple locations
Art Alley at Sawyer Yards in Arts District Houston: 1502 Sawyer St., Houston, TX 77007
A heart is painted in front of a mural dedicated to George Floyd, located a couple miles from where Floyd grew up in Houston’s Third Ward.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Houston’s George Floyd murals
The longtime Houston resident is memorialized on several walls. At LA Burgers & Daiquiris, Houston artist Israel Rodriguez captured Floyd’s gentle-giant nature. Where Elgin Street crosses Ennis Street, Zack Murray’s tribute surrounds Floyd with roses.
In Midtown, Reginald Adams’s “I Can’t Breathe” displays Floyd with an American flag mask. At the old Scott Food Mart, across from Cuney Homes where Floyd grew up, Donkeeboy, Donkeemom and Mandi Quintanilla graced Floyd with angel wings and a banner reading “Forever Breathing In Our Hearts.”
Find them:
Israel Rodriguez’s George Floyd mural: 3755 N. MacGregor Way, Houston, TX 77004
Zack Murray’s roses: 3112 Elgin St. at Ennis St., Houston, TX 77004
Reginald Adams’s “I Can’t Breathe”: 3711 Travis St., Houston, TX 77002
Donkeeyboy/Donkeemom/Quintanilla “Forever Breathing In Our Hearts”: 2780 Scott St., Houston, TX 77004
“Hope for a Greener Future” mural by artist Carlos Alberto GH features regional Houston wildlife. Find it at the southwest corner of Fannin and Dallas streets in Houston, Texas.
Courtesy of Robin Soslow, Special to Chron
The future looks bright for Houston murals
You’ll also find great outdoor art in unexpected places such as Houston artist Anat Ronen’s commanding Owl Eyes painted on retainer walls of a Houston Arboretum ravine, and GONZO247’s sky-high Camden Downtown rooftop wraparound.
Find them:
Anat Ronen’s Owl Eyes: 4501 Woodway Drive, Houston, TX 77024
GONZO247’s “The Calm and the Courage:” 1515 Austin St., Houston, TX 77002
More artworks are popping up thanks to business and civic group investments. As Ding said, “Murals give everyone easy, free access to art that enriches with bright colors and stories told.”
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