One of the draws of St. Petersburg is the art. This little city is bursting out the seams with creativity. Between the Dali Museum, the Warehouse Arts District, and the circus artists, there is no shortage of arts in St. Petersburg.
Everything in St. Petersburg can be turned into art… even the dumpsters and newspaper racks!
My boyfriend and I decided to make a day out of the art – a great cheap date idea for anyone in town!
We started out at the corner of 20th St. S and 5th Ave. S on the Pinellas Trail in the Warehouse Arts District. There is a Coast Bike hub on the trail to rent bikes from. The bikes are the way to go to travel the 1.5 miles north on the trail to see the murals lining the trail.
You will come across murals that make you go ‘wow,’ murals that make you think, murals that awake something in you, and murals that make you laugh. The genre and themes or the artists have no limits or boundaries.
If you go south on the trail you will see the blockade has even been turned into art by the Shine Mural Festival.
All throughout the Warehouse Arts District you can find murals from the Shine Mural Festival. To learn more about each mural from the festival, you can download their app – PixelStix on the App Store – and touch your phone to each plaque.
Each building has murals to help represent their business and showcase the talented mural artists of St. Pete. You can spend all day exploring all of the surrounding roads and buildings and talking about each mural.
The heat and sun chased us off of the bikes and to the more shaded Central Ave to explore the downtown murals. There are some murals in downtown that everyone knows about but shout out to our waiter at the Cider Press Cafe for the tip to walk the alley between Central Ave and 1st Ave North. Here is where you will find the hidden gems, the murals you never even realized were just behind your table while eating sushi.
The murals in the alley were simply extraordinary. The artists left no wall, fence, dumpster untouched.
We spent almost an hour wandering around the alley pointing at our new favorites, gazing at the art, and being amazed at the talent within our city.
One of my favorite things about St. Petersburg is how we highlight our artists. The city doesn’t try to hide or cover up the talents of its occupants but rather showcases it for all to see. Everything can be turned into art and St. Petersburg proves it.
PS: The muralists all have great instagrams so be sure to follow them on social when you find their art! Or follow now to see what they’ve been up to!
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Like what you see? Email me at travelwithrachie@gmail.com or DM on Instagram to set up your own adventure!
