Where to see murals in Las Vegas

From downtown to Chinatown to a historic neighborhood on the westside, here’s where to look for murals in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas may not be the mural capital of the world, but we’re catching up.

Decorative murals. Innovative murals. Murals with a message. Every day, more and more walls are coming to life. Located in downtown Las Vegas and other areas of the city, these lifesized public paintings provide locals and visitors alike with the opportunity to experience innovative, contemporary art for free. 

Are you interested in touring the town’s trail of murals? From downtown to Chinatown to a historic neighborhood on the westside, here’s where to look in Las Vegas.

Downtown murals

The city’s most famous murals decorate walls in the Arts District, the Fremont Street Entertainment District, the Casino District, and beyond in downtown Las Vegas. Painted by renowned global artists and local creators alike, new additions pop up constantly.

Among the most iconic of the artists is contemporary American activist and artist Shepard Fairey. He has painted two murals in downtown Las Vegas, including “Cultivate Harmony,” a 21-story plea for a peaceful world on the Plaza Hotel & Casino. 

The Plaza showcases two additional multi-story murals. “Behind Closed Doors” portrays a dysfunctional, comic-style hotel horror scene by English multimedia street artist D*Face (Dean Stockton). Looming above the Plaza’s rooftop pool, it’s his fifth Las Vegas mural. On another side of the tower, “Tribute to Cassius Marcellus” by Faile (a collaboration by Brooklyn artists Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller) overlooks Interstate-15 in a cheeky nod to the “Dogs Playing Poker” series. 

A classic Vegas showgirl adorns the El Cortez parking structure on Fremont Street between 6th and 7th streets, a mural by American artist Tristan Eaton. The mural includes feathers, dice, casino chips, and the message “Fear No Fate.” Muralist Victor Ving and photographer Lisa Beggs created “Greetings from Las Vegas” at 1237 S. Main Street. The duo is working on curating city-specific greeting cards for all 50 states.

Two different downtown murals immortalize “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” by author Hunter S. Thompson. At 107 South Las Vegas Boulevard, there’s a cubist-style portrait of the author by Spanish multidisciplinary street artist Ruben Sanchez, while Recycled Propoganda’s “How Vegas Survived the Pandemic” is a playful wink on an Imperial and Main Street wall.

East Las Vegas Community Center. (Courtesy, via Adry del Rocío)

In 2020, an old rundown T-shaped alley at the center of Fremont Street, Carson Street, Las Vegas Boulevard, and 6th Street, now known as the Downtown Art Alley, was transformed by artists into a community space filled with murals and other interactive public art. Likewise, the Pretty Dam Cool Alley on Fremont, between 7th and 8th Street, is playful, whimsical, and filled with personality.

Felipe Pantone’s solar-powered 3D mural at 7th Street and Ogden utilizes geometric shapes, optical illusions, and monochromatic colors to create an energetic, old-school, out-of-this-world piece of art. The #dtlvwings mural at 32 W. Imperial is perfect for an interactive photo opp.

The local Indigenous community is adding its voice to the mural scene downtown with the help of Nevada-based Tribal Minds and entertainment giant Paramount. The newest mural, “Water Is Life,” by Las Vegas Paiute Fawn Douglas and Spirit Lake Dakota/Dine Avis Charley, highlights the importance of preserving our sacred life source on a wall at 1430 S. Main Street.

If you’ve driven along the Charleston Underpass on Charleston Boulevard, you may have noticed a colorful, 24,000-square-foot mural. This piece by local mural artist Eric Vozzola is filled with therapeutic symbolism and intended to create a healing gateway between downtown’s medical and arts districts.

Murals in Chinatown Las Vegas

Chinatown Las Vegas is still growing, and murals there are few and far between. The largest work of art commissioned there adorns the side of the Adult Superstore, 3226 Spring Mountain Road.

The store owner commissioned the mural in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic to celebrate the community’s vibrant cultural arts scene. A 100-foot by 30-foot mural by local artist Gear Duran, it features a mythical Phoenix and Dragon, representing the balance between yin and yang. According to a Chinese saying, “When the dragon soars and the phoenix dances, the people will enjoy happiness for years, bringing peace and tranquility to all under heaven.”

Though not officially in Chinatown, Area 15 is just a hop, skip, and a jump away at 3215 S Rancho Drive. The mural on the exterior of the interactive entertainment complex is a play on experience inside – with a desert twist. Artist Eric Vozzola (mentioned above), envisioned it as a secret window or portal tearing through the wall to provide a captivating glimpse inside.

Murals in the Historic Westside

As the Historic Westside neighborhood of Las Vegas undergoes a revitalization, murals are cropping up to help honor the area’s legacy, history, and rich fabric while also building community pride. With help from the city of Las Vegas, the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas Life, and local artist Chase McCurdy, the neighborhood is now home to several large-scale murals.

Among them is “I Can, I Will,” by local artists Malachi Williams and Dyron Boyd. Located at the A.D. Guy Knowledge Center, 817 North Street, the 118-foot long by 9.5-foot high mural celebrates the life of Guy, the city’s first black District Court judge.

Washington Ave. (Frank Alejandre / The Nevadan / El Nevadense)

The 214-foot-long mural  “Architects of Community,” honors three community leaders: Helen Toland, the first black female principal for the Clark County School District; Anna Bailey, the city’s first black showgirl (featured in the image above); and Herman Moody, one of the city’s first black police officers. Created by local artists Mario Smith and Courtney Haywood, it is located at the West Las Vegas Arts Center, 947 W. Lake Mead Boulevard. 

A portrait of community activist Ruby Duncan, painted by artists Malachi Williams and Dyron Boyd, is located at the nonprofit OBODO Collective, a bountiful community garden at 1300 C Street.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.