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Outdoor art museum is always free

Published December 08. 2023 09:16AM

By BONNIE LEE STRUNK

Special to The Press

Since 2012, Allentown has been experiencing robust economic growth and transformation.

Millions of dollars have been invested in reversing the 40-year decline of the downtown commercial district and other areas of the city.

Walk or drive in Allentown, and residents and visitors alike will see many eyes focused upward, watching construction projects in multiple blocks.

Tall cranes are everywhere, as high-rise offices and apartment buildings replace blighted and vacant properties downtown.

Folks who divert their gaze to eye level are in for a treat: spectacular wall art, some covering the entire sides of buildings.

These colorful murals are prolific: on stores, churches, educational institutions, entertainment venues, restaurants, and even on a few private homes.

Not only do these vibrant works of public art help beautify the city, they also engage and energize the community.

According to published reports, as far back as 2016, developer City Center Group’s Vice President and Director of Design and Corporate Branding Jane Heft began commissioning artists to do the artwork.

As interest increased in sponsoring the murals, Heft created a nonprofit, Allentown Mural Arts, to help other groups become involved.

When in Allentown, slow down and take in the calming and inspiring expressions of beauty and optimism that await on walls in unexpected locations.

Visit these outdoor art exhibits in different light, day or night, as often as you wish.

Admission is always free.

Press Photos by BONNIE LEE STRUNK This colorful mural graces the side wall of the new Da Vinci Science Center under construction in the 800 block of Hamilton Street, Allentown. The Center is expected to open next year.
Love in any language is the theme of this mural, one of several on a side wall of Lehigh Carbon Community College, 718 Hamilton St., Allentown.
One of the murals on the side wall of Lehigh Carbon Community College depicts notable landmarks in downtown Allentown.
Press Photos by BONNIE LEE STRUNK The mural on the back of Miller Symphony Hal, N. 6th Street, Allentown, looks so realistic, viewers might be tempted to walk into the wall.
The Children's Academy of Resurrected Life Church, 9th and Turner streets, Allentown, features this vivid mural of helping hands.
“Portal,” on a wall at Penn and Turner streets, was painted by artists Matt Halm and Liz Ramos.
RB Collection, Front and Hamilton streets, Allentown, a restorer of antique and classic vehicles, displays a mural of a Jaguar, as well as a steam locomotive and biplane.
An expansive mural at 2nd and Hamilton streets portrays the life cycle of a girl and boy through adulthood into their twilight years.
A series of murals on S. 8th Street near Hickory Street, Allentown, represents popular landmarks in the city.