We all know that the Soda City has a vibrant art scene — and we’re not just talking about the Columbia Museum of Art or the 701 Center for Contemporary Art. One of our all-time favorite galleries? Columbia itself.
The Soda City is home to several meaningful murals and street art pieces. Today, we’re sharing where to find pieces that really paint a picture of our city.
Blue Sky | Various locations
Blue Sky is the artist behind some of Cola’s most iconic murals, including the Tunnelvision mural that draws in tourists and tricks your eyes.
- Other Side of the Tunnel, 1447 Hampton St.
- Rubble Without a Cause, Behind Groucho’s in Five Points
- Tunnelvision, 1514 Marion St.
- Vista Vision, Fleeting Glance, 1000 Gervais St.
Cayce Arts District, Cayce | Various Artists
In 2015, Cayce Mayor Elise Partin attended the Mayor’s Institute on City Design, where she introduced the idea of “prerevitalization” to connect art, community, and business. Now there are four murals, an art lot, and several buildings painted in the area.
- Cayce Wonders, Ija Charles
- Paint the Town, Michael Geddings
- Enjoy the Little Things, Painted by the Cayce community
- Stop and See Cayce, Joel Cothran
Cola Town Bike Collective Mural | 711 Elmwood Ave. | Trahern Cook & Mazie Fran
Located in the back of Cola Town Bike Collective, look for this mural while driving on Elmwood Avenue and about to hop on I-126.
Columbia, We’re In This Together! | 2621 Devine St. | Christine Crawford
The mural depicts five arms of various ethnicities embracing each other, symbolizing unity.
Dum Spiro Spero | 1227 Taylor St. | Alex Rusnak
Revolving around South Carolina’s state motto, “Dum Spiro Spero” or “While I breathe, I hope,” this mural depicts faces looking towards each other with crescent moons on either side of the mural.
Five Points Postcard Mural | 732 Saluda Ave. | Chad Brady
The Five Points Postcard Mural captures the energy of Cola’s entertainment district with scenes from the village area and legendary blues musician Drink Small.
Generations | 1121 Park St. | Eric Lake
This mural depicts generations of Columbia from the past to the present.
George Washington Carver | 4622 North Main St. | Danrelle McCall
Painted on the side of Rare Variety Cafe, the depiction of agricultural scientist George Washington Carver highlights the farm-to-table process and growing your own food.
God Bless America |2030 Devine St. | Ralph Waldrop
One of Five Points’ most photographed murals, Ralph Waldrop painted this American Flag mural with 15 other veterans following Sept. 11, 2001.
Aaron Graves Tribute Mural | 900 Main St. | By Lauren Andreu and Claude Gilbert
Located on the side of Hunter Gatherer on Main, the “I Love My Friends” mural honors beloved Soda Citizen and local musician Aaron Graves who passed away in 2019 of brain cancer. The mural honors his favorite things and his sense of community.
Growing Together | 4005 Monticello Rd. | By Charmaine Minniefield
The flowing 40′ x 100′ foot mural adjacent to the Hyatt Park Community Garden celebrates the community with elements referencing African fabric and the nearby flora. The mural was unveiled in 2018 as a partnership between One Columbia and Indie Grits.
Interactive Art Park | 425 Meeting St. | Various artists
Located just across the river at the Meeting Street Artisan, this area features interactive art pieces and murals created by local artists.
- Art on State, Collen Otte
- State of Mind Butterfly, Christine Crawford
- Alley Way, Christine Crawford
Jim Morrison, James Brown, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. | Various locations | Derrick Tripp Barnes and Christine Crawford
Murals on Rosewood Drive and Five Points depict famous musicians, including the Godfather of soul, James Brown, who was born in nearby Barnwell, SC.
Lady Vista | 916 Gervais St. | Cait Maloney
Artist Cait Maloney says this mural “captures the funky, fresh, and colorful essence of the area into one image, so I took everything that I knew the Vista to be and boiled each aspect down into its own abstract representation.”
Lincoln Street Tunnel | 900 Lady St. | Various artists
Murals from the Leadership Columbia Class of 2017, Michael Dantzler, and Keith Tolan decorate both sides of the tunnel connecting the Vista to Finlay Park.
- A Watermarked Soda City, Leadership Columbia Class of 2017
- Columbia Map of Infinite Connectedness (CMIC), Michael Dantzler
- Our Community, Soda City Diner, Keith Tolen
- Welcome to the Neighborhood, Leadership Columbia Class of 2017
Middle of Nowhere | 808 Lady St. | Osamu Kobayashi
The mural shows the artist’s interpretation of radiating energy connecting the mountains to the coast of South Carolina.
MILAGROS Mural | 1100 Taylor St. | MILAGROS Collective
The MILAGROS collective uses the visual vocabulary of traditional Latin Americans depicting offerings to saints in exchange for luck or healing.
Ra Obelisk | 900 Heyward St. | Richard Lane
Originally painted in 1993, the structure depicts Ra, the Egyptian sun god, along with various symbols and hieroglyphs. It was retouched in 2018 by Jeff Donovan and Georgia Lake.
Saluda In Bloom | Candi Lane | Austin “Slim” Gee
This mural near the Saluda Riverwalk entrance raises awareness about litter issues across our state.
Tokamak | 1211 Taylor St. | Josef Kristofoletti
Named after a special type of nuclear fusion reactor, the mural resembles a digital waterline on the side of a building.
The Pursuit of Opportunity: Celebrating African American Business | 1401 Main St. | Ija Charles
The Main Street mural pays homage to the Washington Street corridor known as Columbia’s Black Wall Street.
The View from Mount Zion | Harden Street in Five Points | McClellan Douglas
Painted on the side of Natural Vibrations, the shop specializes in Reggae and Rasta goods and imported goods from around the world.
