Walking through Midtown and Downtown Reno, it’s impossible to feel like you’re not being watched. Wall after wall line the streets with eyes keeping watch over the pedestrians passing by. It begs the question, what have the walls seen, and what are the pedestrians seeing?
The murals across Reno are hard to miss and have become a defining feature of the city. Some stretch across entire buildings while others are hiding in alleyways or cover the sides of rundown shops. They’ve become part of how the city presents itself. As Reno continues to change, the difference between murals that feel genuine to the city’s roots and those that feel like decoration is glaringly obvious. Some murals add to the city’s story, while others cover it up.
Midtown has been reshaped in recent years. New restaurants, bars, and apartment buildings fill spaces that not long ago held a different history. The murals have followed closely behind. Some of them give life to the older walls and make sense in their environment. Others look like they were put there to make a decaying building more aesthetically pleasing. There is a sense of forced character.
The murals that feel the most “Reno” to me are the ones that embrace what’s already there. The older pieces with weathered paint, faded colors, and cracks bring an intention that newer murals tend to forget. The old cowboy, whether he’s been there a year or ten, feels settled into the bones of the shop he sits upon. The imperfections of the wall add to the art. The cowboy isn’t trying to hide anything…