Time for the next leg of our mural tour of Hartford! After exploring downtown’s packed mural scene in part one, we’re heading south to tour the public art in Hartford’s thriving South End.
Our South End, self-guided mural tour consists of the seven major mural projects that define the neighborhood. The tour starts at one of the southernmost murals in the city, winds up through the Frog Hollow and Sheldon Charter Oak neighborhoods, and ends in Colt Park. Read on to explore the guide and learn exactly where you can find these murals.
Location: 680 Franklin Ave
Created in 2017 as part of the Paint the City project, this mural can be found on the side of the Louis J Metzner Memorial Center in the South End. Artist Damien Mitchell’s inspiration was to provide positivity and joy for the children in the neighborhood.
Location: 140 Monroe Street
Just a five-minute drive from our first mural is a whimsical piece by John Paul Ogrodnick. The mural, which spans the wall alongside E.B. Kennelly School’s athletic fields, is over 300 feet long and was created in Ogrodnick’s signature colorful and abstract style for the Paint the City project.
Location: 773 Park Street
This mural was discovered on our way to see one of the Park Street murals that was commissioned as part of Hartford Public Library’s Changemakers mural series in 2020. While the changemaker mural was no longer at that location, it was found directly across, making the trip to Park Street well worth it.
Location: 958 Broad Street
Three blocks away from mural #3 is our next mural, which translates to “Today, I look to the future.” The mural was created by Lindaluz Carillo and Mina Elise and commissioned by the Trinity College Chapter of Temple of Hip Hop.
Location: 34 Huyshope Ave
Our next mural takes us to a fire station turned men’s homeless shelter in the Sheldon Charter Oak neighborhood. The piece is another Paint the City commission created by artist Yuliya Puhach who told interviewers that the mystical creatures were guardian angels protecting the shelter tenants.
Location: Colt Park
CT Murals and the CT Center for Nonviolence came together to commission this colorful garden scene inspired by MLK’s principles of nonviolence. While you may recognize artist Corey Pane’s style, the piece was brought to life with a community of volunteers who helped paint different sections of the mural.
Location: Roberto Clemente Field, Colt Park
On the side of the baseball snack shack, you’ll find a mural of the field’s namesake – Roberto Clemente. Clemente was a Latino baseball legend and the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the baseball hall of fame. The mural is another Corey Pane commission that was installed with community volunteers.
We hope you had fun exploring the South End’s vibrant mural scene! If you made it to every mural on this self-guided tour, we recommend walking over to Thomas Hooker Brewery at Colt and celebrating with a beer. Our North and West End mural tours are just around the corner.
