These amazing Anchorage murals, sculptures, and statues are a must-see part of a trip to Alaska.

Vibrant natural beauty isn’t the only thing that keeps Anchorage colorful: The community is also dotted with spectacular full-scale murals, hidden street art, and other public works. They depict scenes from Anchorage history and culture, painting a vivid picture of Alaska community life. Plot a path to see them all, and discover the creative side of the city. 

1. Wyland Whaling Wall

   Spanning a 400-foot wall overlooking Town Square Park, the mural depicts swimming bowhead and beluga whales and other Alaska marine life. It’s the work of famed muralist Robert Wyland – one of 100 such Wyland Whaling Walls located around the world. 

2. Mural by Crystal Worl

   Located behind City Hall on 7th Avenue between G and F Street, the colorful 120-foot mural highlights the diversity of Alaska Native tribes that live in Anchorage today. A work by Alaska Mural Project was made possible through a collaboration of local and state organizations.

3. Sleeping Lady

   The work of Anchorage artist Justin Parsons, this brilliant mural of Mount Susitna brightens up a pay-to-park lot off 3rd Avenue in downtown Anchorage. Enjoy the artistic rendering of one of Anchorage’s most memorable landscapes, then stroll two blocks to Resolution Park for a clear view of the real thing. 

4. Hunter S. Thompson

   In this colorful full-scale mural by Anchorage artist Rejoy Armamento, author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson keeps watch over a downtown Anchorage alley, off 5th Avenue between Barrow and Cordova Street. 

5. Common Ground

   Adjacent to a community orchard at the Government Hill Commons, this botanical scene – entitled Common Ground – is the work of renowned Alaskan artist Linda Infante Lyons. 

6. Schodde Street

   At the western edge of Mountain View, a block from the Ship Creek Trailhead at the northwest corner of Commercial Drive and Schodde Street, this mural by Anchorage artist Arielo Taylor decorates the side of an unassuming neighborhood office building.  

7. Surf Laundry

   The work of Anchorage artist Rejoy Armamento, the mural on the side of this Mountain View neighborhood laundromat features a distinctly Alaska image with Hawaiian flair — a painting of two people surfing the Turnagain Arm bore tide. Find it at the corner of Mountain View Drive and North Bragaw Street.

8. Los Picaflores

   A two-story mural depicting rainbow-hued Rufous hummingbirds adorns the side of the Hispanic Cultural Center on Mountain View Drive. It’s also the work of local artist Linda Infante Lyons, who maintains a studio in the neighborhood.

9. Welcome to Mountain View

   Located at the east end of the Peterkin Bike Boulevard, part of the 32-mile Moose Loop bike route, this mural by Anchorage artist Andrew Garcia welcomes passersby to Mountain View, one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in the country.

10. Point Woronzof

    Over the years, the water tower on the beach at Point Woronzof has become a magnet for unauthorized muralists. The structure is now a colorful symbol of Anchorage, with the city skyline visible behind it. 

11. Greetings from Alaska

    Created by muralist Victor Ving and photographer Lisa Beggs, the eye-catching mural at the corner of 5th Avenue and Fairbanks Street welcomes all to Alaska’s largest city. 

12. Mammoth Music

    A procession of woolly mammoths stride across the side of a downtown music store in this mural by Alaskan artist Ted Kim.

13. Eyes of Spenard

    A wheat paste mural by James Temte, based on a photograph by local photographer Michael Conti, this 50-foot visage keeps an eye on Spenard Road from the side of a commercial building just south of Benson Boulevard. 

14. John the Flower Guy

    Jean Jilwan, affectionately known as "John the Flower Guy," was an icon of Anchorage's bar scene, roaming the city and selling $5 stems from a bucket brimming with roses. When he passed away in September 2020, Anchorage artists Garrett Perkins, Reed Leslie, Justin Parsons, Rejoy Armamento, and Shara Kay Diamond collaborated to honor his memory with a detailed, gorgeous mural on the side of Pancho's Villa on Spenard Road.

15. SEED Lab

    On the walls of downtown Anchorage's SEED Lab, several murals by multiple local artists bring awareness to climate change and Alaska's Indigenous histories. Look for a series of paintings in the style of stained glass windows, and a striking portrait of an Unangan woman carrying a skinning knife and salted bag.

16. Hope Mural

    Designed by Alaska artist Steve Gordon and created through a collaborative community process, this colorful mural sprawls across the west-facing wall of the Hafling Building at the corner of 7th Avenue and E Street in downtown Anchorage.

17. Mural by Drew Michael

    The Kobuk coffee and gift shop on Fifth Avenue is home to a new mural painted by Yup’ik and Inupiaq artist Drew Michael. The art was inspired by traditional Yup’ik masks and Inupiaq influences and represents different Alaska Native tribes and Indigenous cultures. 

18. Grandma Olga

    This bronze likeness of Dena’ina Athabascan matriarch Grandma Olga Ezi stands at the mouth of Ship Creek, facing north. The work of Alaskan artist Joel Isaak, the statue pays homage to the region’s history and heritage. "What I was trying to do was represent living people and our life way that even though it's been heavily interrupted, has not stopped," Isaak told local public radio station KNBA.  

19. Captain Cook

    The centerpiece of downtown Anchorage’s Resolution Park, this statue of 18th century British explorer Captain James Cook looks out over Cook Inlet, with a panoramic view of Sleeping Lady. The work of artists Derek Freeborn, the piece was donated by The British Petroleum Company and erected as part of the American Bicentennial Celebration. 

20. Balto

    Balto – the Alaska sled dog famous for his role in the 1925 serum run to Nome – is depicted frozen in mid-stride in this monument by artists Jacque and Mary Regat. From his pedestal on 4th Avenue and D Street, he has a front-row seat for all of Anchorage’s major mushing events: the World Championship Sled Dog Races, and the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. 

21. The Last Blue Whale

    Within blocks from the Cook Inlet coast, this dramatic, diving whale sculpture by Joseph Priniciotti sits across the street from the Boney Courthouse in the heart of downtown Anchorage.

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