Springfield and Southwest Missouri’s Best Street Art

This page has been updated with new information. 06/01/2023

Springfield isn’t a huge street art community, but we do have our fair share of masterpieces covering the walls of beloved businesses around the city. We’ve rounded up some of the must-see murals in the Queen City so you snap photos of underwater scenes, greeting signs, butterfly wings and so much more.

Greetings from Springfield, Missouri

Springfield’s Flag

Find It: On the patio of Hotel Vandivort (305 E. Walnut St., Springfield)
The newly official Springfield flag is proudly on display at Hotel Vandivort. The mural was painted by the Springfield Identity Project group to help promote the new symbol of downtown pride. 

The Kinetic Man

Find It: In Downtown Springfield
Also known as the K-Man, this shiny, tall beacon was created by Russ RuBert with limbs that can be controlled with a crank and gears located at its base, making it the perfect piece of interactive art.

Branson Landing

Find It: At the Branson Landing parking garage (3 Branson Landing Blvd., Branson)
With murals made up of bright pastels and uplifting messages, twin artists Christa Schmitz and Sara Schmitz Olson are spreading joy for Branson residents and visitors. Their designs can be found on all four levels of the parking garage, and their unique style shines through in each painting.

The Sun Target II

Find It: Outside the Springfield Art Museum (1111 E. Brookside Dr., Springfield)
Also known as the French fries statue, this yellow sculpture created by John Henry is the perfect, bright welcome to the Springfield Art Museum.

Springfield in 1975

Find It: On the wall of Fresh Gallery (401 N. Boonville Ave., Springfield)
Painted by Ben Bunch and Ryan Thayer as a replica of the original painting depicting Springfield in 1975 by Robert E. Smith.

Bud’s Tire & Wheel

Find It: Outside Bud’s Tire & Wheel (701 W. College St., Springfield)
Bud’s Tire & Wheel is one of the last remaining shops still standing along Route 66 with a mural depicting the beauty of Route 66.

The Cloud House

Find It: In Farmers Park (2144 E. Republic Rd., Springfield)
Inspired by the water cycle, artist Matthew Mazzota created The Cloud House, a wooden structure that collects water inside the cloud, combining function and form.

Underwater Scene

Wings

Another one of Ehrhardt’s masterpieces lives across the street from Black Sheep Burgers & Shakes, right next to Riad in downtown Springfield. The human-sized butterfly wings are becoming one of the most Instagrammed pieces of art in the city. There are also at least two more sets of wings in Springfield: blue and yellow wings can be found inside Dickerson Park Zoo, along with angel wings on the side of Tie & Timber Beer Company.

Cycling Murals

These cycling murals live on the building that used to be Queen City Cycles. They were painted by Jim Veronee who is known for painting these and the eye-catching mural at Traders Printing & Design. The building is now rented by the owners of Sharks Surf X Supply, but the art still remains.  

Octopus

Across from Rogue Barber is a large octopus mural that was painted by Ehrhardt. She pitched the idea to the owner of the building after telling him about the #417streetart project and he loved it. “I had seen an octopus painted on a building before (in a Google search) but wanted to put my own spin on the idea,” Ehrhardt says.

Harbell’s Mural

On the side of Harbell’s Grill & Sports Bar downtown is a mural that takes up the entire side of the building. It was painted by David Guinn in 2001 over the course of seven weeks. “It was meant to capture the feeling of that space at that time,” Guinn says. “I understand there’s been a lot of construction, so it might not relate to it as well anymore.” Guinn is based out of Philadelphia, but lived in Springfield for one year in the ‘90s. During that year, he painted his first mural in a bar called the Juke Joint that once lived on the downtown square. “It was my first mural as an artist,” he says.

Student Murals at Brick City 

There is an abundance of student-painted murals on wall across from Brick City Gallery. This mural is a replica of the Guernica by Pablo Picasso, which gives the message to end violence. According to a blog on The Standard, this is one of two paintings that were completed in 2016 by six students who were given the assignment to replicate famous murals as social justice pieces.

Bank Tunnel Murals

The Systematic Savings Bank tunnel downtown contains various murals. Two of them were painted by Ehrhardt. After the bank contacted her about coming up with ideas for the tunnel, they went with the $1,000 bill and the bank vault that both make for great photo ops.

Lao Tzu Mural

This new Lao Tzu inspired mural is located downtown on the corner of South and Walnut. The mural was created by Springfield native Brad Noble, with assistance from artists Francois Lariviere and Emily Million.