The Mural Mile — Attraction in St. Louis

I was leaving Soulard via Pontiac Square Park and the Community Garden when I decided to check out a part of the city called Kosciusko. I had read it was all industrial. Of course, the moment I got there, I needed a restroom. I was hoping to find a Porta Potty on one of the work sites or something. And then, lo and behold, I saw the Graffiti Wall/Mural Mile. And much to my surprise, there were people out painting it. Turns out, I had stumbled onto Paint Louis, a huge event where graffiti artists are invited to paint our river wall every year. People come from other states just to showcase their art and find community. And yes, they had Porta Potties.

I wound up staying till dark. Definitely longer than a mile. Took so many photos and talked to so many incredible artists. It was inspiring and heartwarming to see people come together for the sake of art, and do something positive, outdoors, for the community and the art world. I loved it, and I'll definitely return in...

We were very disappointed by the Mural Mile. Our tourist group felt the literature provided by the website, facebook and must see lists were very misleading.

Most of the paintings had dark themes or referenced drug/ alcohol/ questionable content. The sidewalk was littered with broken glass (all alcohol related). We encountered vandals painting on the murals in broad daylight. We did not finish the walk as the environment did not feel appropriate for our audience (high school group).

Though there were groups using it as back drops for portraits, we found it near impossible to find a mural that had school appropriate content for our students.

The concept is with good intentions but the content and environment are not...

Murals done by graffiti artists. However, unless you are present immediately after the murals were updated / finished, there are always "additions" added by others. These could be tags, profanity, or the ever-common male anatomy. This area is not busy in the mornings to afternoon, but eventually pikes of photographers, kids wanting to hang out, motorcycles / tuned cars / four-wheelers, and others crowd this place. Loud music, loud vehicles, and loud crowds. Photo sessions here have become absolutely cliche and boring. It's an ok place, be wary of all the extras. If you're looking to film video here, be aware of not only the humans but the trains, airplanes, and helicopters that regularly ruin audio...