Arts

Spotlight on St. Louis murals

"Variations" augmented reality mural in Covenant Blu Grand Center. (Heavy.io)

By Andrew Nguyen

August 7, 2022

There have been many efforts by the city of St. Louis to address its infrastructure issues from patching potholes, renovating deteriorating homes and dealing with trash.

But one of the most visible ways to beautify a neighborhood is by adding art to public spaces. Murals are one of many ways cities can create safer and more vibrant neighborhood for residents.

St. Louis, Missouri

A tale of three neighborhoods

5 murals

Old North St. Louis

5 murals

Convenant Blu Grand Center

14 murals

Forest Park Southeast

On a sweltering weekend in July, I biked to three neighborhoods near downtown St. Louis on the lookout for murals, jotting down where I found them along the way.

These large scale, eye-catching murals serve as easily identifiable community centerpieces often found on the facades of buildings.

O l d N o r t h S t . L o u i s Old North St. Louis Old North St. Louis R i s e U p A s O n e R i s e U p A s O n e R i s e U p A s O n e 1 C o v e n a n t B l u G r a n d C e n t e r Covenant Blu Grand Center Covenant Blu Grand Center 2 1 5 F e e t o f L o v e 215 Feet of Love 215 Feet of Love A u g m e n t e d R e a l i t y Augmented Reality Augmented Reality 2 F o r e s t P a r k S o u t h e a s t Forest Park Southeast Forest Park Southeast B l a c k C a t F i r e c r a c k e r P i z z a Black Cat Firecracker Pizza B l a c k C a t F i r e c r a c k e r P i z z a 3

Rise Up As One

1

Old North St. Louis

2

Covenant Blu Grand Center

215 Feet of Love

Augmented Reality

Home

Black Cat Firecracker Pizza

3

Forest Park Southeast

Home

Bike route

Neighborhood boundary

Mural

O l d N o r t h S t . L o u i s Old North St. Louis Old North St. Louis R i s e U p A s O n e R i s e U p A s O n e R i s e U p A s O n e 1 C o v e n a n t B l u G r a n d C e n t e r Covenant Blu Grand Center Covenant Blu Grand Center 2 1 5 F e e t o f L o v e 215 Feet of Love 215 Feet of Love A u g m e n t e d R e a l i t y Augmented Reality Augmented Reality 2 F o r e s t P a r k S o u t h e a s t Forest Park Southeast Forest Park Southeast B l a c k C a t F i r e c r a c k e r P i z z a Black Cat Firecracker Pizza B l a c k C a t F i r e c r a c k e r P i z z a 3

Rise Up As One

1

Old North St. Louis

2

Covenant Blu Grand Center

215 Feet of Love

Augmented Reality

Home

Black Cat Firecracker Pizza

3

Forest Park Southeast

Home

Bike route

Neighborhood boundary

Mural

O l d N o r t h S t . L o u i s Old North St. Louis Old North St. Louis R i s e U p A s O n e R i s e U p A s O n e R i s e U p A s O n e 1 C o v e n a n t B l u G r a n d C e n t e r Covenant Blu Grand Center Covenant Blu Grand Center 2 1 5 F e e t o f L o v e 215 Feet of Love 215 Feet of Love A u g m e n t e d R e a l i t y Augmented Reality Augmented Reality 2 F o r e s t P a r k S o u t h e a s t Forest Park Southeast Forest Park Southeast B l a c k C a t F i r e c r a c k e r P i z z a Black Cat Firecracker Pizza B l a c k C a t F i r e c r a c k e r P i z z a 3

Rise Up As One

1

Old North St. Louis

2

Covenant Blu Grand Center

215 Feet of Love

Augmented Reality

Home

Black Cat Firecracker Pizza

3

Forest Park Southeast

Home

Bike route

Neighborhood boundary

Mural

10 mins from downtown

Heading into 1 Old North St. Louis, where the neighborhood is more than 80 percent Black, the murals featured commentary on social justice issues such as housing and historical figures.

'Rise Up As One' mural in Old North St. Louis.

"Rise Up As One" mural in Old North St. Louis. Paul Sableman / Flickr

15 mins from downtown

In 2 Convenant Blu Grand Center, just over 50 percent of the neighborhood is Black, and the murals depict whismical, abstract lines and shapes, including one that used augmented reality.

'215 Foot of Love' on The Marcelle.

"215 Foot of Love" on The Marcelle. (Claudio "Remix1" Rico de Alba)

20 mins from downtown

In 3 Forest Park Southeast, home to the bustling business district called "The Grove," where nearly 50 percent of the population is white, the murals showcased creatures such as birds, cats, octopus and dragons.

Firecracker Pizza & Beer in The Grove.

Firecracker Pizza & Beer in The Grove. (Kevin A. Roberts / St. Louis Magazine)

Walkability

Scenic route

The neighborhoods that were visited with a higher number of murals were among the most walkable neighborhoods in St. Louis.

In fact, Forest Park Southeast has a walk score of 82 out of 100, which is roughly 25 percent higher than the city average. The neighborhood has a mural at almost every block along Chouteau Ave.

Crime

Safer neighborhoods

All of the neighborhoods visited experienced a dip in crime.

Most notably, Covenant Blu Grand Center saw a more than 25 percent decrease when comparing incidents from July to December 2019 to the same timespan a year later, according to data scraped from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's crime tracker.

Code and analysis for this project can be found on Github.