New York City is one of the preeminent cities for street art, murals and high-quality graffiti.
Starting in the late 1960s and early 1970s, spray paint became a powerful tool for social change in NYC.
In the face of mass consumerism, graffiti writers and street artists fought back with their individual expression and social commentary.
I'm a local NYC tour guide and a native New Yorker. I watched the transformation of chaotic subway graffiti into a disciplined art form.
I've developed a deep love of street art over the years. It brightens my day when I walk past a colorful, joyful mural.
Some murals challenge me to think deeply about questions that plague society. Others are so playful, they make me laugh out loud.
Sure there are plenty of spray paint scribbles on walls, but I keep my eye open for the masterpieces along the streets of New York City.
In this article, I tell you about places where you can find fantastic street art, almost exclusively giant murals.
I had some help from my colleagues, Izzy and Mar who lead our street art and graffiti tours.
On those tours, you'll see loads of art, learn about different styles like murals and wheat paste, and hear about top artists.
Below is a list of 15 locales (with a map of addresses) where you can see timeless masterpieces and new pieces.
This is not a definitive list. The magic of street art is that it pops up when and where you least expect it!
So the list is always growing. But this should get you off to a good start!
Click here for an interactive map.
1. Bushwick Collective
To see a collection of stunning murals, head to the Bushwick Collective.
This is the first place I bring my street-art-loving friends when they visit from out of town.
There is so much artwork to see you won’t be able to stop talking about it for weeks!
The short video below is an introduction to the collective and its origins.
The Bushwick Collective is located in Bushwick, Brooklyn, just off of Flushing Avenue and it's easy to reach by subway.
If you want to visit with an expert who'll tell you about the history of the neighborhood and the artists of the collective, join our pay-what-you-like Bushwick Graffiti and Street Art Tour.
TIP: Try to schedule time for a meal at Roberta's, one of the very best pizza places in NYC!
2. DUMBO Walls
Unlike the Bushwick Collective, the DUMBO Walls project is spread out over several streets in the Brooklyn neighborhood DUMBO.
In 2012, eight walls near the York Street subway station were selected as sites for large murals by famed artists like Shepard Fairey, MOMO, Yuko Shimizu, and others.
Some of these eight sites have the original murals, while others have new ones. The project likes to rotate in new artists so every few years there will be a new batch of works.
While CAM's huge colorful owls, one of the first murals from 2012, are still visible along York Street between Adams and Pearl Street, it is fading out.
But in 2018, CAM came back with a new bunch of fine feathered friends at Adams Street between York Street and Prospect Street.
Between 2019 and 2021 a few new artists joined the walls, including the two "Love" murals by Cey Adams.
Use this map to find the eight walls.
What is nice about the DUMBO Walls is that it doesn't take a long time to see the works since there are so few. DUMBO is a destination unto its own.
This is another neighborhood I bring my out-of-town guests to (street art lovers or not) because of the incredible views of Manhattan, the large parks, the historic buildings and...the pizza at Grimaldi's!
Maybe you sense an undercurrent here. Murals and New York pizza go hand in hand!
Be sure to look at our post on things to do in DUMBO to find out what else to do there.
3. Harlem Murals and Graffiti Hall of Fame
If you want to visit a street art shrine, check out the Graffiti Hall of Fame in East Harlem on the corner of Park Avenue and 106th Street.
I think your time is better spent walking around Central Harlem and seeing some of the large-scale murals dotting the area.
The first stop should be the ground-breaking murals inside the Harlem Hospital Center at 512 Lenox Ave and 136th Street.
You don't have to go inside the hospital to see them as digital enlargements of three of the murals are displayed on the building’s 12,000-square-foot glass facade.
Why are these murals ground-breaking?
They were commissioned in 1936 (yes, 1936!) by the Work Progress Administration (WPA), the federal program that kept artists working during the Great Depression.
What is truly significant is that it’s believed to be the first major federal government commission awarded to African-Americans.
The Harlem Hospital is across the street from the starting point of our Soul of Harlem Stroll: History & Heritage Walk.
Our GPS-led audio tour of Harlem also walks past these murals.
Harlem is especially ripe for street art since new works pop up all the time.
Here's Lady Altovise, one of our tour guides at Tours by Foot NYC pointing out a new arrival.
4. Houston Bowery Wall
In 1982, legendary artist Keith Haring painted his first iconic large-scale mural on a wall on the corner of Houston St. and Bowery.
I was in college in 1982 in NYC and lived right near that wall. It was an electric time in the city for street art and the wall was a game changer.
Back then, the building was privately owned and Haring (and the artists who followed his lead) had no permission to paint there.
Many building owners would have painted over what they saw as vandalism. Technically, painting on that wall was a crime!
Fortunately, the property was bought by a real estate developer, Tony Goldman, who was also an art aficionado.
In 2008, Goldman brought on well-known curator Jeffrey Deitch to manage the wall. Deitch was eventually replaced by the owner of a contemporary art gallery, The Hole).
This seminal wall is a stop on our pay-what-you-like Manhattan Street Art Tour.
Select local and global artists are invited to bring their unique style to the wall. The wall is repainted by new artists every several months.
Past murals included works by Shepard Fairey, Kenny Scharf, AIKO, Os Gemeos, and so many others.
In the video above, you can see a time-lapse of artist Ron English transforming the wall into his unique style of mural art.
English has also contributed to the LISA Project which has artwork on walls throughout Little Italy.
5. Little Italy Street Art Project (LISA)
The LISA Project is a public art charity that brings street artists to beautify the walls of Little Italy.
There are several important pieces here, though they do change periodically.
The one mural that is always there is the lovely Audrey Hepburn mural at 176 Mulberry Street.
Little Italy is likely on your list of neighborhoods to visit and I think that's a good decision!
While it is pretty small, there are some spots in Little Italy not to be missed, including my favorite bakery for cannoli -- Ferrara Bakery!
Some of the LISA murals are seen on our Lower Manhattan Street Art Tour.
6. Welling Court Mural Project (WCMP)
The WCMP is a massive collection of street art in Astoria, Queens.
The project was launched in 2010 to beautify the somewhat run-down Welling Court area of the neighborhood.
The project grew from the initial 40 murals to over a staggering 150 murals by 2024.
The works are by both local and international artists. See the list of artists.
There are many well-known artists, like Fumero, whose works are all over New York City, Mr. PVRT, and Ron English.
WCMP is a little off-the-tourist-beaten-path since it is in Astoria, Queens, which is mainly a residential neighborhood.
But it is easy to get to and well worth the trip. Here's a map and directions.
It is free to visit and open to the public 24/7, all year long
TIP: One thing that makes my visits here to see the murals more fun is taking the East River Ferry.
It's just $4, five blocks from the WCMP and offers fantastic Manhattan skyline views.
7. World Trade Center Mural Project
In 2018, the World Trade Center Mural Project brought a world of color and joy to an area that has a somber place in American history.
We are proud that Mar and Izzy, our street art tour guides with Tours by Foot NYC, consulted on the World Trade Mural Street Art Project.
This came about after they co-curated the monumental 'Graffiti in the Sky' mural and art gallery on the 69th floor of 4 World Trade Center, overlooking the 9/11 Memorial.
You can find murals next to the Oculus, adjacent to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
The Oculus is a huge transportation hub servicing NYC as well as a shopping mall with dozens of shops and several good places to eat in a grand plaza roughly 30ft.
TIP: Every Friday from May to October, Smorgasburg, an iconic NY food market, sets up 20 food stalls outside along the Oculus’s North Plaza.
Sit and have some snacks and enjoy the art around you! My favorite food vendor is Raclette Street. No need to go to Paris for this scrumptious melted cheese dish.
8. First Street Green Art Park
A must-see space located in the East Village is the First Street Green Art Park on the corner of Houston Street and 2nd Ave.
This public space supports emerging artists who work in different mediums and at any given time there may be as many as 32 murals and other types of artwork.
If you go to the historic Bowery Wall (which I really think is a must-do for all street art lovers), you can walk two blocks over to this mini-world of colors among nature's green.
The park is on the border of two very cool neighborhoods, the East Village and the Lower East Side.
9. The High Line
This innovative park on the remains of abandoned elevated railroad tracks is a highlight of any trip to New York City.
You cannot miss the massive wall adjacent to the High Line at 22nd Street.
The High Line has a cutting-edge public art program that includes murals, installations and sculptures.
I love the combination of nature, art, and architecture one experiences in the park.
You can use our self-guided walking tour to discover what makes the High Line so cool!
10. Banksy's Hammer Boy
Hammer Boy is a small-scale Banksy mural at 79th Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side.
It was painted as part of Bansky’s ambitious month-long residency in NYC in October of 2013, called “Better Out Than In”.
That October was one of the most exciting times to be living in NYC.
Every day Bansky dropped a work of art in the city but did not say where.
The hunt was on, and once people found that day's work and word spread, I rushed over to see!
Many works were removed or destroyed, but thanks to the owner of the building, Hammer Boy remains protected behind a piece of plexiglass.
Go see Hammer Boy! It’s just three blocks from Central Park so make a day of it!
ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS
11. Coney Island Art Walls in Coney Island.
12. Crack is Wack by Keith Haring at E. 127 St/2 Ave and Harlem River Drive on the Upper East Side.
13. The Museum of Street Art, inside citizenM New York Bowery Hotel at 189 Bowery.
14. Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol by Kobra, at N. 9th St. just east of Bedford Ave in Williamsburg.
15. Big Pun Memorial by Tats Cru at 910 Rogers Place, in the Bronx.
Thanks to our tour guides Izzy and Mar for their contributions to this article!
