Free Self-Guided Mesa Art Mural Walking Tour
- Ben
- May 2
- 2 min read
My favorite city in the greater Phoenix area was definitely Mesa. It’s southeast of downtown Phoenix, and it’s small but has a lot to offer. We walked up and down the main street, conveniently called Main Street, in search of street art. And we succeeded. More than that, we got a really good feel for the area. This charming neighborhood felt very hip and artsy. The street was filled with trendy cafes, antique shops, record stores, and other super art-forward-looking venues.
Walking up and down Main Street, there’s basically a mural on every building. You don’t have to go far to find something you like. When I was looking for a neighborhood to walk in search of murals, this is the one that convinced me to choose Mesa.
It is both really creative and also super fun, my favorite combination. There are certainly good pictures of it online - which I am now adding to - but this mural had to be seen in person! I like the sunset and city skyline seen in the windows of the mural.
Along the way, we saw a lot of other murals, many with these desert-inspired designs. There were tons of flowers and cactuses, as well as some colorful geometric designs and avian creations.
I particularly liked the ones that were really understated and just added a touch of elegance to an otherwise boring storefront or, in some cases, the side of the building.
The street is also filled with other art, namely sculptures. There are a lot of life-sized metal sculptures of children and charming scenes. My mom really liked these, so we stopped to see each one.
This walk took us right around an hour in total. It was about three miles, but you could make it a lot shorter by avoiding all the little side quests that we did. I really enjoyed some of these off-the-beaten-path sights, but the main murals and statues are right on Main Street, so the side streets do not necessarily need to be included. Staying on the main road would be plenty for a great experience if you want to decrease the time or mileage.
On the other hand, we could have very easily continued walking - I could see more murals in the distance that I had to pass up - and get in a longer walk. I would recommend continuing east, across Sirrine Street, which is where we turned around. If you want, you could also easily break it up by stopping for lunch or a coffee at one of the great cafes here.
