Definitive Guide To Springfield MO Murals #SGFMuralGuide

Last updated: September 19, 2023

Welcome to the definitive guide to Springfield MO murals! This list is my attempt to document and list every mural in the Queen City. I know it is currently not a complete list of all murals in Springfield, but it was very close in 2021 when I first wrote this post. I will be adding more when I can and hopefully this will be a complete list soon. This list contains 52 murals in 41 locations around the city of Springfield Missouri.

Tiffany and I took up mural hunting as a social distancing activity during lockdown. All of the murals on this list can be viewed while social distancing outdoors and many from your car, just please don’t drive distracted. I am considering a mural to be any work of art painted on a building or wall. That excludes interesting signage, oddities and the oversized noodle at Kraft but keep an eye out for that post in the future. I am only including outdoor murals at this time. That means all the beautiful art I hear is inside Bass Pro will not be included in this list. There are also a number of murals at Dickerson Park Zoo and I considered these to be “indoors” as you have to pay to get in the zoo.

It was important to me to track down as much information as I could about each mural, including the year it was painted, the artist and the name of the mural if it has one. Outdoor murals are often accessible to the public so it’s easy to not consider they are first works of art. We’re getting this art for free so go give the artists & businesses some love. I have linked them all either to their Instagram or website, when available.

To make your adventuring a little easier, the murals are organized by location. I haven’t created a map because honestly I think there’s too many for one map. Create your own in the Google Maps app by following these steps: enter in your first location, then once it prompts you to click Start, choose the three dots in the top right hand corner and select “Add Stop”. Once they are all entered you can click the up/down arrow next to any stop to change the order. Just make sure you don’t close the app or you’ll lose your list. (So far I don’t know how to save the map with all the stops.) Most have a street address but this will not always lead directly to the mural so have a look around, some are on the sides of buildings, in back, around corners or down alleys. Always stay safe and remain aware of your surroundings at all times while mural hunting. Do not trespass on private property.

All of these photos are my own and we worked hard traveling around town taking them so please do not use them on your own website or social media without permission. That said, I’m more than happy to grant permission for use of a photo, especially to an artist who has found their work featured in this list, just contact Carly at unicornhideout@gmail.com or on our Instagram or Facebook with your photo use requests.

Did you use our guide on your mural hunt? Tag us on Instagram @unicornhideout and use the hashtag #SGFMuralGuide, we want to see you enjoying the art of Springfield. You can support us and see future lists by following us on Instagram or Facebook. You can also follow Tiffany on her bookstagram @tiffanymbooks, she was a big part of this project and is the model you see in many of these photos.

Now without further ado, your definitive guide to Springfield MO murals.

This post contains affiliate ads, which means if you click an ad and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting unicornhideout.com.

Downtown Springfield MO Murals

Welcome to Springfield
Location: Discovery Center, 438 E St. Louis St
Painted in: 2018
Interactive? No
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt

Route 66 Bigfoot
Location: Stripes LTD, 1800 W College St
Painted in: 2020
Interactive? I’m going to say yes, since Bigfoot is life size
Artist: Liberty Painting

Thousand Dollar Bill, Bank Vault and Critters hiding in bricks
Location: Systemic Savings Bank, 318 South Ave
Painted in: 2018
Interactive? Yes (bank vault)
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt

Giant Lego Blocks
Location: Ward Downtown YMCA, 417 S Jefferson
Painted in: 2020
Interactive? No
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt

Octopus
Location: Abandoned building across from Rogue Barber, 639 W Walnut St
Painted in: 2017
Interactive? No
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt

South Avenue Tunnel Mural (aka the Tom Hanks mural)
Location: South Avenue tunnel, near 318 South Ave
Painted: Prior to 2017, exact year unknown
Interactive? No
Artist: Jorge Ortiz

Underwater Scene
Location: intersection of Mt Vernon and Grant St
Painted in: 2009-2010
Interactive? No
Artist: Susan Sommer-Luarca

Tribute To The Gulf Of Mexico
Location: TCI Graphics, 615 W College St
Painted in: 2010
Interactive? No
Artist: Susan Sommer-Luarca
Video news story: https://youtu.be/6KvObtvip0Q

Bud’s Tire and Wheel on Route 66
Location: Bud’s Tire and Wheel, 701 W College St
Painted in: original unknown, repainted in 2018
Interactive? No
Artist: repaint by Granpa Jankins

Saturday Evening, 6pm
Location: Harbell’s Grill and Sports, 315 Park Central West (mural is on the west side of the building, facing Campbell Ave)
Painted in: 2001
Interactive? No
Artist: David Guinn

Brick City Student Murals
Location: Across from Brick City, 215 W Mill St
Painted in: 2015-2016
Interactive? No
Artist: Michael Yates, Erin O’Sullivan, Steve Willis, Jill Hetherington, Cynthia Holman, Lindsey Johnson, Reagan Lutz, Sarah Stracke, Tyree Williams, and others

Venus
Location: ideaXfactory, 351 N Boonville, mural can be seen from Mill St
Painted in: 2018
Interactive? No
Artist: Sarah Jones

100 Years of Springfield
Location: Founders Park, 330 E Water St
Painted in: 1991-2003
Interactive? No
Artist: Various Springfield city high school students
Source story

Sounds of Springfield
Location: Founders Park Lofts, 331 E Water St
Painted in: 1999
Interactive? No
Artist: Todd Lowery

Printing Press
Location: Multi Printing, 230 W McDaniel St (view from Patton)
Painted in: 2007 or earlier
Interactive? No
Artist: Jim Veronee

Obelisk Home shapes
Location: Obelisk Home, 214 W Phelps
Painted in: 2020
Interactive? No
Artist: Painted by the staff of Obelisk Home

Hotel of Terror
Location: Hotel of Terror, 334 N Main Ave
Painted in: date uncertain, Hotel of Terror established in 1978
Interactive? No
Artist: unknown

Youth Mural Project murals
Location: on Market St off of Olive St
Painted in: 2001
Interactive? No
Artist: Dave Loewenstein with students from Bailey’s Alternative School

Monarch Butterfly Wings (large & small)
Location: 400 South Ave (view from Walnut St)
Painted in: 2017 on opposite side of the street, repainted in current location in 2019
Interactive? Yes
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt

Lao Tzu
Location: 328 South Ave
Painted in: 2019
Interactive? No
Artist: Brad Noble, Francois Lariviere and Emily Million

Queen City Cycles
Location: 301 W Walnut St (on the side/back of the building facing the parking lot)
Painted in: sometime between 2004 and 2013
Interactive? No
Artist: Jim Veronee

Springfield MO Bubbles
Location: Hold Fast Brewing*, 235 N Kimbrough
Painted in: 2019
Interactive? No
Artist: Abilities First, instagram.com/abilitiesfirstsgf
*Technically not a mural, but there is also a large You Are Beautiful sticker at this location.

Monsters
Location: on the back of the buildings around 300 South Ave, walk through the South Ave tunnel and turn left
Painted in: unknown
Interactive? No
Artist: unknown

Midtown Springfield MO Murals

These three are just a little east of the downtown Springfield area.

Color Wheel
Location: National Art Shop, 509 S National (mural is on the back of the building, view from Burger King parking lot)
Painted in: year unknown, National Art Shop has been in business since 1970
Interactive? No
Artist: unknown

[photo coming soon]

Owl Wings
Location: Tie and Timber Beer Company, 1451 E Cherry St, I have only seen this briefly driving by, it may be within their patio area making it kinda an indoor mural, but for now I’m going to leave it on the list.
Painted in: 2019
Interactive? Yes
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt

‘To The Glory Of God’ Nativity Scene
Location: Former Springfield Flour Mill building, 610 N Prospect (high on the building, seen easily from Chestnut Expressway)
Painted in: 1997
Interactive? No
Artist: Farley Lewis, drawn by Obie Harrup

Commercial Street Springfield MO Murals

Do Good and Orange Chevron Door
Location: Vecino Group, 305 W Commercial St
Painted in: 2017
Interactive? No
Artist: Vecino Group

Live Moves Pretty Fast – Ferris Bueller
Location: Imaginational, 406 W Commercial (behind the building)
Painted in: 2019-2020
Interactive? Ferris Bueller is life-sized so I’m going to say yes.
Artist: Imaginational

Keep Calm and Dream
Location: Imaginational, 406 W Commercial (behind the building)
Painted in: year unknown
Interactive? No
Artist: Imaginational

[photo coming soon]

C-Street Flowers
Location: Footbridge Trading Company, 320 E Commercial St
Painted in: 2020
Interactive? No
Artist: Linda Passeri and Mary Passeri

Train and Flowers
Location: Wayne Rooks Service, 1846 N Grant Ave
Painted in: 2019
Interactive? No
Artist: Moon City Creative District

[photo coming soon]

Plant Windows
Location: Harvest Grow Supply, 1332 N Glenstone Ave
Painted in: 2019
Interactive? No
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt
*this one was closer to the Commercial St group than the midtown group, but it is not on Commercial St*

Southwest Springfield MO Murals

Kiss My Gas Scooters
Location: Kiss My Gas Scooters, 2179 S Campbell Ave
Painted in: 2020
Interactive? No
Artist: Unknown

Pizza Wings
Location: Garbo’s Pizzaria, 2101 W Chesterfield St
Painted in: 2020
Interactive? Yes
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt and Samantha Cox

[photo coming soon]

Don’t Go Bacon My Heart
Location: Springfield Family Restaurant, 2222 S Campbell
Painted in: 2020
Interactive? No
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt and Samantha Cox

Wild Horses
Location: Alamo Drafthouse, 4005 South Ave
Painted in: 2009
Interactive? No
Artist: Susan Sommer-Luarca
Fun fact: the large empty lot the mural faces is one of the historic watering spots used for travelers headed into Springfield in its early years. The mural was created to bring awareness to the plight of wild horses in the midwest.

Southeast Springfield MO Murals

Tribute to Milly Sawyers
Location: Derma Health, 1850 S Stewart Ave
Painted in: unkown
Interactive? Yes
Artist: Melissa Briggs and The Milly Project
Words on the mural read: “Milly Sawyers was an enslaved woman in Springfield MO who won her freedom through litigation in 1835 prior to the Supreme Court ruling on Dred Scott. Milly was bold enough to imagine and proclaim her freedom and inalienable rights as a slave and as a woman. Through hardships she never gave up.”

Rainbow Paint Umbrellas and “Life Is Your Canvas”
Location: Seminole Paint and Decor, 1815 E Seminole St
Painted in: 2017/2019
Interactive? Yes (umbrellas)
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt

Wavy Rainbow
Location: Seminole Paint and Decor, 1815 E Seminole St
Painted in: unknown
Interactive? No
Artist: unknown

Suntastic Swingset
Location: Sunstastic Tanning Center, 838 S. Glenstone
Painted in: 2020
Interactive? Yes
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt and Emily J Million

[photo coming soon]

Blue and Orange Wings
Location: Lost & Found Grief Center, 1555 S Glenstone
Painted in: 2019
Interactive? No
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt

The Pollinator and ‘Vegetables are powerful’ cucumbers
Location: Farmer’s Park, 2144 E Republic Rd (in two different locations around the Farmer’s Park complex)
Painted in: 2019
Interactive? No
Artist: Jason Jones

Butterflies
Location: Kaleidoscope, 1430 E Sunshine
Painted in: 2020
Interactive? Yes
Artist: Andrea Ehrhardt

Rainbow Wings
Location: south corner of the Plaza Tower Shopping Center, near All About Guns, 1948A S Glenstone Ave
Painted in: 2020
Interactive? Yes
Artist: Emily J Million

Dancing Mule mural
Location: Dancing Mule Coffee Company, 1945 S Glenstone
Painted in: 2011
Interactive? No
Artist: Eric Vaughn

Did you use our guide on your mural hunt? Tag us on Instagram @unicornhideout and use the hashtag #SGFMuralGuide, we want to see you enjoying those murals! You can also support us and see future lists by following us on Instagram or Facebook.

A few more notes:

This blog is not sponsored by or associated with any of the artists or businesses mentioned here or the city of Springfield.

I couldn’t have done this without past curators of Springfield MO mural lists, which were very helpful jumping off points for this research. These are the main three we used.
417 Magazine
SpringfieldMO.org
The Murney Blog

Looking for more travel posts? Click here.