Try this new Loop Mural Walk for the urban adventurer

Posted 3 years ago in Things to Do

2 MIN READ—Chicago Loop Alliance has launched a brand new, free program to give Chicagoans and visitors an outdoor activity that will lead them off the beaten path downtown: a Loop Mural Walk. The self-guided walk features 21 murals on three routes, for a 2.1-mile combined journey through alleys and other oft overlooked spaces in the Loop. The program is extended through Labor Day. The Loop Mural Walk is available now here.

Featuring work by international household names as well as emerging artists, the Loop Mural Walk highlights a hidden side of the Chicago Loop many may have never seen before. Participants are invited to use their smartphones to follow turn-by-turn directions or forge their own paths to these masterful works of street art, many by artists of color whose perspectives and stories in these spaces are important to witness. While a few of the featured murals are prominent, well-known pieces, many others are more obscure, often left behind after Chicago Loop Alliance’s popular ACTIVATE alley events.

While getting back downtown for this free outdoor activity, Chicago Loop Alliance invites participants to check out exclusive deals from nearby Loop businesses here. Anyone who shares their journey on social media using #LoopMuralWalk is entered for a chance to win a $100 gift card to The Dearborn.

“The Loop Mural Walk is a new project we hope will inspire Chicagoans and visitors to come back downtown to enjoy all the Loop has to offer—including incredible public art, dining, shopping and attractions,” said Chicago Loop Alliance President and CEO Michael Edwards. “As more Chicagoans receive their COVID-19 vaccinations, and now that we’re enjoying consistent warm weather, we know our neighbors are itching to experience an iconic Chicago summer downtown. We think this new activity should be on everyone’s list.”

While there are some well-known murals on the walk, including Eduardo Kobra’s “Tribute to Muddy Waters” on State Street, most are more obscure works hidden in alleys, loading docks and other locations most don’t walk past in their day-to-day lives.

The Loop Mural Walk is broken into three routes, depending on how adventurous one might be feeling. Anyone can follow one route, two, or all three. The northeast Loop mural route takes participants through lower level streets and past construction zones, offering the most challenging experience. The State Street route leads mural walkers through historic Couch Place alley before heading down State Street. And the southern Loop route begins in the Sullivan Center’s loading dock before leading participants down to Ida B. Wells Drive to see the largest mural Chicago Loop Alliance has ever commissioned.

More information on these routes and the murals themselves, including audio descriptions, can be found at here now through July 4.

Loop Mural Walk artists: