Follow the Color: The Alabama Mural Trail Turns Small-Town Walls Into Destinations

If you have driven or strolled through Alabama’s towns lately, you may have been suddenly and delightfully surprised by murals just about everywhere you look. From Huntsville and Decatur down to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, the artwork on the sides of businesses, parking decks and historic storefronts belongs to a single project: the Alabama Mural Trail.

A Trail Built for Community and Commerce

The Alabama Mural Trail was conceived by two individuals, Candace Johnson and Erin Hackenmueller, with funding provided by the University of Alabama Center for Economic Development. Its stated goal is to provide the state “a sense of community, to drive economic impact, and to bring people together” — a statewide artistic endeavor that gives locals and visitors a reason to stop in towns they might otherwise pass through.

Some murals are painted on the outside walls of businesses; others cover the outer walls of parking decks. Some are the work of well-known artists; others are the product of multiple, variously skilled artisans. Some are whimsical, some a bit comedic, and others are historic — but all of them turn an ordinary errand into a small discovery.

The Jubilee City’s Open-Air Gallery

Daphne’s collection shows how deep the trail runs in Baldwin County. Next time you visit Manci’s Antique Club on Main Street in Olde Town Daphne, look on the Belrose Avenue side: there, a historic rendition shows Mrs. “Tootsie” Manci leaning on an automobile from around the 1930s. Co-owner Harry Johnson notes that Buster Manci started Manci’s Antique Club in 1936 and the murals have been there for decades — “they’re a part of Daphne’s history.” A second black-and-white mural on the Main Street side frames an old Model T in front of the building.

Down the same street, the north side of Something Sweet Bake Shop at 1712 Main Street carries a mural of a pail with an octopus and crab, while the south side of the same building depicts the city’s original Italian founding families. The north side of The Frame Corner at 1411 Main Street shows a scene of Mobile Bay with egrets in the foreground. The city’s marketing office keeps track of the collection in the “Jubilee City.”

From Foley to Fairhope

In Foley, the side of the Foley Coffee Shop on Highway 59 near the pedestrian walkover bears a lovely mural of the coffee shop itself. Gulf Shores and Fairhope have their share as well, as does the town of Silverhill. Fairhope’s Ox Kitchen on Greeno Road sports the “Greetings from Fairhope” mural that many visitors use for selfies. Downtown, looking west from the Fairhope Museum of History on Section Street, two more stand out — one on the north side of Master Joe’s Sushi and another, equally striking, on the east side of the parking deck.

The trail’s reach across the state means a mural tour can be as short as a stroll down Main Street in Daphne or as ambitious as a road trip from the Tennessee Valley to the coast, with the walls of Alabama’s towns serving as the gallery. Businesses, city governments and artists continue to add new works each year.

Next time you’re driving through an Alabama town, park the car and walk a block. Odds are good that something painted, historic or whimsical is waiting on a wall nearby — and that a photograph of it will come home with you.

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