Murals in the Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City

If you’re like me and always looking for ways to add FREE, easy, screen-free activities into your weekend, let me suggest a walking, biking, or scootering tour of the ever-changing Crossroads Arts District murals and street art.

Kansas City has a rich history of art and artists from Thomas Hart Benton to Walt Disney and the historic Film Row. Today the Crossroads Arts District is home to over 400 independent artists and studios, making it one of the most concentrated gallery areas in the country, which means there is creativity happening around corner.

While I do recommend coming to a First Friday to experience how vibrant the neighborhood is, I almost like going on weekend mornings better because it’s easy to park and wander around with your littles. Plus, once you work up an appetite, there are several fun family-friendly places for treats and eats! Check out a few of the local restaurants like Parlor, Grinders, Brewery Emperial, Mission Taco Joint, Town Topic, Manny’s, and Mildred’s for great food and kid-friendly options.

There are several ways to explore the area depending on what you’re looking for, here are some ideas.

Sports Murals

We all love our KC teams and there are several murals around the area. They are great backdrops and amazing to see the scale and detail in person.

Chief’s Kingdom Mural – Tom’s Town Distilling Co.

Painted Chiefs mural on building

Chief’s Red Wall – 18th and Locust

painted mural with chiefs

Raised Royal – Southwest Blvd and 25th Street

Painted mural on building

Raised Royal – Alley behind Escapist Skateboarding

Painted mural on building

Royal Girl – Afterward Tavern and Shelves

Painted mural on building

Sporting KC Mural – Plexpod Building

Painted mural on building

Kansas City Love

We all love showing our Kansas City pride and these murals are the perfect photo op for portraits or even to frame.

Made in KC Maker’s Mural – 26th and Summit

Made in KC painted Mural

“Kansas City I’m So in Love” Mural – Imagine That Building

Painted mural on building

Love Kansas City – Foxx Equipment Building

Painted mural on buildingPainted mural on building

Janelle Monae Portrait by Zulu Painter

Painted mural on building

Spira Care Mural

Painted mural on building

You are Beautiful KC Wall – Delphinium Salon

Painted mural on building

Inspiring Murals

These are perfect for Instagram and would make great backdrops for Senior Portraits.

Strong Women Mural – Women Leaders in College Sports

Painted mural on building

Summer Night – Messenger Coffee

Painted mural on building

Spread Good Energy

Painted mural on building

Endless love Mural – Behind Cellar Rat Wine

Painted mural on building

Street Art

I love that so many businesses in the Crossroads have offered their walls to Kansas City artists to express themselves. It’s so fun to see how the murals and tags constantly evolve and change. It’s worth taking your camera and walking through the alleys to catch all the surprising details and explosions of color.

Artist Alley 17th and Oak

alley with graffiti alley with graffiti alley with graffiti alley with graffiti

Anime Murals by Jake Merten

Behind the Hemingway Building

painted mural with anime man

Parking Lot by 1st Class Real Estate

Painted mural with anime man

Two Ladies by Zulu PainterBehind Outreach Event Space

Sitting Man on Manny’s Restaurant by Alex Senna

Painted mural on building

Alley Behind Manny’s Restaurant

Painted mural on building

Alley behind Concentra

Painted mural on building

Blue Unicorn by Allison Bamcat

Painted mural on building

Mickey Mouse by Matt Gondek

Painted mural on building

Mural in Grinder’s Parking Lot

Painted mural on building

Mural in Dance Fit Flow Parking Lot

Painted mural on building

Mural by Kiptoe

Painted mural on building

Rachel Sleeter
Approximately 1 day of her life, Rachel hiked on a glacier in Iceland. The other 99.9% of her days her hands are full doing creative strategy at Hallmark Cards, being a mom to Luna who is a five-year-old Queen of Sass, wife to Matt who is a funny Google-a-holic, and dog mom to Rosie, whose sweetness is matched only by her smelliness. Her favorite ways to avoid cleaning the house are leisurely strolls through Target (pre-pandemic) listening to mostly crime podcasts, spending a small fortune on curly hair products, crafting Barbie schools out of Amazon boxes, making complicated recipes with too many ingredients, playing 1 million games of Zingo, and enjoying her Westside downtown neighborhood with her family.