Dallas’ Quiet Street Art Revolution — Giant Murals Liven Up the City

A new kind of mural’s appeared at the Katy Trail underpass on Hall Street. Dallas muralist Alli Koch collaborated with Arrowwood Designs on a living moss mural that’s situated against a black wall.

Koch has taken on several projects around town for local spots, including artwork for Maple Landing and Punch Bowl Social. Her living mural joins several other murals that have popped up under Katy Trail in the past couple of years.

Uptown Dallas Inc. has been commissioning large murals from local artists, all of whom are women except one, over the past year or two to brighten up Uptown. The Hall Street spot hasn’t had a lot of luck, recently painted over with black paint because of recurring vandalism. But hopefully, the beauty of this mossy creation will deter any would-be vandals.

Another local artist whose work you can find all over Dallas is Mariel Pohlman. She painted the fortune cookie message on Blackburn Street, under the trail. Pohlman also collaborated with Mariell Guzman on the butterflies you see on Bowen Street. Guzman has painted several murals around DFW as well, most recently being an immersive painting on the exterior of El Arroyo in Arlington.

The giant McKinney Avenue Trolley called “Rosie” that you pass on Cedar Springs Road was also done by Pohlman in collaboration with Corinne Bizzle. The two joined forces on the big “Uptown” mural on the other side of the street as well.

On Lemmon Avenue, Laura Mayberry painted the color dot murals you see on the pillars under the bridge. She also just finished up a very Instagrammable mural outside of The Grey Stitch in Fort Worth.

Lastly, the man behind the On The Upside mural on Bowen Street is Brennen Bechtol, a sign painter and muralist based in Oak Cliff. A trend for all of these paintings is positivity, working to make Uptown the best place it can be.