Letting creation be the drive on this journey of the unimagined life.
Soda City: Murals
Soda City Murals: Columbia, SC
When I think of which cities are known for their murals, I don’t immediately think of Columbia, SC, but maybe I should! Now after discovering our city has over 40+ murals, not to mention numerous other wonderful works of public art, I wish I had figured this out sooner. It has been an incredible gift finding these murals, each with their history, artistry, and even demonstration of solidarity, and they are all truly deserving of appreciation and taking notice.
A Southern Affair Mural (1314 Rosewood Drive) by McClellan Douglas
Columbia We’re In It Together Mural (2615 Devine Street) by Christine Lutfy
Bob Marley Mural (719 Harden Street/Natural Vibrations) by McClellan Douglas
George Washington Carver Mural (4622 North Main Street) by Danrelle McCall
Rewind the tape a minute back to February 2020 and the reason this mural ‘treasure hunt’ of sorts got started. My best friend, adventure buddy, PIC, and roommate has her birthday in February and this year her dream was to ride bikes and explore the city we live in. So we did! Checked out our Blue Bikes, balloons in the basket and all, and wow was it so fun! I think in a matter of 2 hours we tackled over a half a dozen murals that were close enough to bike to and took all the ridiculous pictures we could. We were tourists in our own city, seeing it all through a new lens, and it truly gave me such a renewed appreciation for the incredibly creative culture in Columbia.
Frida Painting Dali (2911 Millwood Avenue) by Tripp Derrick Barnes
Just a little over a month and a half later, after the birthday adventure, I got the news that my office was going to close due to COVID-19. Like so many, I really had no idea what to do and I just tried to head the advice so many were giving: to create a rhythm and routine to help with navigating this season and juggling day after day of devastating news. What began as our nightly mental health walks, as we called them, turned into long Saturday ‘hike the city’ trails to explore our neighborhood and city. At first it was just to an effort to get outside and help break up the day, but after stumbling on a few murals on some of our walks, we started researching and planning out routes to find as many as we could! We honestly thought this would be just a couple week thing, but after months and many miles later, we have now explored so much of Columbia’s diverse landscape and found some incredible public art. Each mural has brought such joy and has been truly one of the highest points of gratitude in this quarantine season for me. So to the artists and the creators behind each piece of public art, thank you!
We have had an amazing time discovering each of these murals, so we want to share our findings for others to equally enjoy them! I have learned that not only does Columbia have over 40 murals but so MANY others, as well as sculptures, monuments, and more! What a perfect time to take a slower pace and see this Soda City in a whole new way!
Lady Street/Greenway Murals (900 Lady Street)
Generations Mural (1121 Park Street) by Eric Lake
Tunnelvision (1514 Marrion Street) by Blue Sky
Palmetto Mural (731 Elmwood Avenue)
Paint the Town (2019 State Street) by Michael Gedding
Historic Five Points Mural (700 Harden Street, left side wall) by Blue Sky
Balancing Act (4840 Forest Drive) by Paul Yanko
Barbershop Mural (1928 Rosewood Drive)
Dum Spiro Spero (1227 Taylor Street) by Alex Rusnak
Alley on State (122 State Street) by Christine Lutfy
Lady on Devine (2921 Devine Street) by Shelby LeBlanc
Columbia We’re In It Together Mural (2615 Devine Street) by Christine Lutfy
George Washington Carver Mural (4622 North Main Street) by Danrelle McCall
Alley on State (122 State Street) by Christine Lutfy
James Brown Mural (1912 Rosewood Drive) by Tripp Derrick Barnes
State of Mind Butterfly (425 Meeting Street) by Christine Lutfy
Tokomak (1211 Taylor Street) by Josef Kristofoletti
Alley on State (122 State Street) by Christine Lutfy
Milagros Mural (1100 Taylor Street) by MILAGROS Collective
Columbia Map of Infinite Connectedness (900 Lady Street) by Michael Dantzler
Solar Eclipse Mural (933 Main Street) by Lauren Andreu & Daniel Andreu
Balancing Act (4840 Forest Drive) by Paul Yanko
5pts. Steel Chain Mural (714 Santee Avenue) by Blue Sky
Steamboats Mural (Three River’s Greenway riverwalk/under trestle) by Ralph Waldrop
God Bless America (2030 Devine Street) by Ralph Waldrop
Color Wall/Nail Bar/Barre 3 Mural (3006 Devine Street) by Chris Carrington
Welcome to the Neighborhood (900 Lady Street) by Leadership Columbia Class of 2017
First Reflections (1545 Main Street) by Stephen L. Hayes
Cola Town Bike Collective Mural (711 Elmwood Avenue) by Trahern Cook and Mazie Fran
Lady Vista (916 Gervais Street) by Cait Maloney
Balancing Act (4840 Forest Drive) by Paul Yanko
Frida Painting Dali (2911 Millwood Avenue) by Tripp Derrick Barnes
Five Points Mural (831 Harden Street) by Daniel Andreu & Lauren Andreu
Bob Marley Mural (719 Harden Street/Natural Vibrations) by McClellan Douglas
Lobster Mural (2757 Rosewood Drive) by McClellan Douglas
Full of Life (425 Meeting Street) by Iga Charles
Come & See Cayce (1804 State Street) by Joel Gothran
A Watermarked Soda City (900 Lady Street) by Leadership Columbia Class of 2017
Other Side of the Tunnel (1447 Hampton Street) by Blue Sky
Alley on State (122 State Street) by Christine Lutfy
A Southern Affair Mural (1314 Rosewood Drive) by McClellan Douglas
Import Special Tires/Cars (1200 Rosewood Drive)
Middle of Nowhere (808 Lady Street) by Osamu Kobayashi
Grow Mural (4005 Monticello Road) by Charmaine Minniefield
Five Points Postcard Mural (732 Saluda Avenue) by Chad Brady
Enjoy the Little Things (2015 State Street) by Will Bryan
Aaron Graves Tribute (900 Main Street) by Lauren Andreu & Claude Gilbert
Historic Elmwood Park Mural (705 Elmwood Avenue)
Our Community, Soda City Dinner (900 Lady Street) by Keith Tolen
The Millwood Mural (2500 Millwood Avenue) by Cedric Umoja, Karl Zurfluh, Brandon Donahue, Ariel Flowers
Fox Mural (2764 Rosewood Drive) by Clay Wooten
Salty’s Board Shop Mural (2712 Devine Street) by Clayton Wooten & Jeremy Burt
Peebles Wing Shack Mural (1332 Rosewood Drive) by Shelby Leblanc
Hotel Trundle Butterfly (1224 Taylor Street) by Megan Carn
Disclaimer: Every effort was made to provide accurate documentation and credit all artists. However, some mural titles may not be the official listing, as well as not every artist being properly credited. Email me at kterlitsky@gmail.com if you have correct edits for any of these public art works in order to list them accurately.
Want a full list of all the public art in Columbia, including more murals? Check out One Columbia’s Public Art Directory for more information on each piece and where to find them.
Click the map above for a link to directions and where to find all the murals listed above!Ps. Handbags made by the talented Uniquely MC! Check out her Etsy shop by clicking this image for other cute bags & even masks in this quarantine season!
We hope you enjoy your own mural treasure hunt and that it brings you joy both in this season and others to come! It has helped us fight for the good in the now and we hope it does the same for you. Take all the jumping, silly, or serious pictures you can to document the fun and the sweet of this season, even in the hard.
