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Nashville murals, street art, graffiti, signs, sculptures and more

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Murals

Topgolf

Top Golf mural street art Nashville

The Topgolf complex off Jefferson Street on the banks of the Cumberland is an enormous entertainment complex. It is only appropriate then that it has an enormous work of art, courtesy of Nathan Brown. I have referred to the style above in the past as Brown’s “colorful geometry problem” style, but I now know he calls it his “geometric gradient style.” This one is more organic than others in this style, such as the one featured in Rainbow pizza, looking strongly like some kind of flower or tree. It sits on a 35×20 ft wall that’s part of The Cowan, Topgolf Nashville’s live performance venue. Note that Topgolf is a national chain. I’ve stated many times that national chains don’t do outdoor art, as it clashes with their branding. But more and more, art is part of the cost of doing business in Nashville. Brown apparently had complete freedom to create his own design. On his website, you can watch a video about its creation and see a number of other photos, including some that were taken from a higher vantage point. Notice the two electric scooters on the side? I had to move about five scooters out of the way that were parked in front of the mural before I photographed it.

Located at 500 Cowan Street, near where Jefferson Street intersects with I-24. The mural is on the northeast side of the building, facing the parking lot. Topgolf has an enormous parking lot, but you may have difficulties parking there at peak hours.

King Solomon Gyros

Solomon Gyros sign mural street art Nashville

If you’ve ever driven down lower Gallatin, you’ve seen the sign. You may even have picked up a meal or twenty there. I usually get the combo plate, but this Scene article makes me think I’ll get the gyro sandwich next time I drop by King Solomon Gyros. Sadly, I do not know who made this sign. The business has exchanged hands in the last several months, and the current owners don’t know who the sign maker was. There’s also some reason to be concerned about the future of this business, as recently this property and the old church next door were bought by James Higgins and Richard Piliponis for $1.02 million. One would hope they don’t mess with a very successful take-out place. The two men, who also own Noble’s Kitchen & Beer Hall right down the street (site of the mural featured in A noble brew), seem to be planning on turning the former New Destiny Christian Fellowship into a pub named Eastwood Assembly. Some of the nearby neighbors have read the word “pub” to mean “bar” and have voiced opposition. The Nashville Post article previously linked also notes that the church building has structural issues that have put plans on hold for now. Again, one would hope Higgins and Piliponis have no plans for King Solomon’s besides collecting a reasonable rent.

UPDATE: The sign was produced by David Wright of Manecoon Sign Company.

Located at 716 Gallatin Ave, at the corner with Chicamgua Avenue, across from Kroger. Solomon has parking, and street parking is available, but really you should admire the mural as you pass through the drive-through!

Never quiet your roar

MK Fitness mural street art Nashville

A few months ago a small mural appeared on Main Street next to the entrance door to MK Fitness, run by personal trainer Mike Krajewski. It’s by Rachel Deeb, a photographer, artist and graphic designer who has appeared on this blog once before, in the post Put up your dukes!. That too is a mural linked to a physical training place, though in that case for Title Boxing Club. While that mural was very clearly about boxing, this one is more abstract. If you scroll down to “Prints” on this page from Deeb’s site, you’ll see a very similar print to this design. The tag, which I’m using for the title of this article, seems to indeed be the title of the work, as that’s the only thing it’s associated with on Instagram. Included in those links is a video showing Deeb creating the mural.

UPDATE: While this mural survived the March 3, 2020 tornado, the building it was on was severely damaged and has since been demolished.

Located at 715 Main Street. The mural is on the front of the building at the east end, and it faces west, towards downtown. If no parking is available in front, there are for now two closed shops next door (to the east) you can park at.

Go slay all the dragons

Dragons mural street art Nashville

There’s a relatively new mural on Douglas that’s been getting a lot of attention on social media, even if it’s not really in a place tourists usually go. Maybe that’s because the guy who paid for it, Drew Holcomb of Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, has promised a weekly drawing until Christmas for a prize package for everyone who checks in in front of the mural. That last link also includes a time-lapse video of the artist, Kim Radford, creating the mural. The mural features lyrics from the Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors song “Dragons,” which also features The Lone Below. The mural, as I said, is getting around. Besides showing up on Instagram, there’s also a video of “Dragons” featuring an animated version of the mural. The East Nashvillian recently published an article about Holcomb which featured a photo of him in front of the mural. I had a chance to talk to the artist, Radford, who told me that while she hasn’t done a lot of her own murals in the past, she’s planning to do more, and recently completed an eagle mural on the side of Elite Bonding on Main Street. Be looking for it on the blog sometime soon. And go check-in on Instagram in front of this one before Christmas for a chance at a prize! The check-in is “Dragons Mural.”

Located at 1224 Lischey Avenue, at the corner with Douglas Avenue. The mural is on the north side of the building, facing Douglas. Nearby street parking is available.

September 11

It’s the 11th of September, and I doubt I have to remind anyone what memorial this is. On Murfreesboro Road, Michael Cooper of Murals and More produced this 9/11 mural honoring first responders earlier this summer. Many of those responders lost their lives that day, and others have faced long-term health effects. After much prodding (notably from Jon Stewart), Congress recently passed into law a 70-year extension to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which includes money to help first responders with their health care. Cooper’s mural, which he did with a team of assistants, includes imagery of the Tribute in Light, two shafts of light that are part of the annual commemoration in New York City. It also includes One World Trade Center, the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center. The memorial also fits into its neighborhood as well. Catty-corner across Cleaveland Street is the backside of the Metro Fire Department Engine Company #12 (located at 101 Polk Street). On the other side of Murfreesboro Pike is the recently completed Metro Nashville Police Department Headquarters at 600 Murfreesboro Pike. There is a large, simple plaque honoring police officers killed in the line of duty on the front of the police headquarters. The mural itself lies above Pierre’s Customs (which has no internet presence I can find) and on the side of Labor Smart.

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Located at 571 Murfreesboro Pike, at the corner with Cleaveland Street. The mural faces Cleaveland. Parking is available on this block, but it’s haphazard.

Living Waters

Living Waters mural street art Nashville

About a month and a half ago, a new brewhouse and coffee shop opened on Trinity Lane, Living Waters Brewing. (Not “Brewery” as I originally typed. Think about it – both coffee and beer are brewed, so “Brewing” is a better name.) But several months before it opened, back in January, Living Waters acquired this mural, courtesy of Tara Marie Aversa (who now uses the name Tarabella Aversa on Instagram.) You can tell it was a cold month from a production shot she posted to her IG account. The design is Living Waters’ logo, a stylized wave, which is why it doesn’t have Aversa’s usual plethora of flowers. I also have to note Living Waters’ IG post about this mural that credits Aversa. Too often businesses do not credit the artists who do this kind of work, and Living Waters went further and noted the difficulty of the canvas – painting a circle on a ridged surface was no doubt a bit of a challenge. This building also contains CrossFit Rising Sun, which has a sign/mural by Folek Kelof.

Located at 1056 East Trinity Lane. The mural above is on the north side of the building, facing Trinity. The Rising Sun mural is on the east side. There is plenty of parking at this site.

Elliston Parking Garage – Part 4, Oner-Folek

Oner Folek mural street art Nasville

In my ongoing series on the Eliston Parking Garage, I’m getting a little out of order because it seems my photo collection is not complete (probably because there were cars in the way). So I’m skipping some first-floor art for now and moving to the second. This piece is on the north-facing wall, and is signed by Mobe Oner (aka Eric Bass) and Folek Kelof, who signs his work “Folek.” This, and the other murals in and on the building, are part of the Elliston Parking garage project organized by the Nashville Walls Project. In revisiting the garage, I realized the mural I featured in Part 3 (see below) was part of a three-part wraparound mural, so I’ll be updating that post as soon as I get more pictures.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Located at 207 Louise Avenue, just off Elliston Place. This piece is on the second floor on the north side of the building (there are stairs and an elevator). Most of the parking in this area is pay parking. The garage is permit parking, at least on workdays.

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