D.C. marks America's 250th with murals across all 8 wards

D.C. marks America's 250th with murals across all 8 wards

As America turns 250, D.C. wants all eight wards to help tell the story.

Why it matters: D.C. is commissioning murals across the city that connect D.C.'s past to the nation's semiquincentennial.

Driving the news: One of the newest murals has transformed an alley next to the Atlas Theater in Northeast.

  • With images of a young D.C. marching band, artist Mia DuVall says she tried to evoke the Declaration of Independence and the modern push for statehood (their medallion hats say "51st").
  • DuVall wants the picture of joyful musicians on the H Street corridor to serve as a celebration of the city, while showing that the "Declaration of Independence is an unfinished document."
  • "We in the District of Columbia fully understand what it means to not be represented."

    • A mural being painted at the Shrimp Boat Plaza. Photo courtesy of Department of Public Works

    Zoom out: The rest of the murals are going up at some beloved local spots, like Blagden Alley near Mt. Vernon Square and the Shrimp Boat Plaza at 4510 East Capitol St. NE.

  • The redesigned wall at Ben's Chili Bowl will get an American Dream-inspired mural, says Nancee Lyons, spokesperson for the Department of Public Works, which launched D.C.'s mural program in 2007.
  • The restaurant's founder, Ben Ali, "was an immigrant who came to this country to find better opportunity," Lyons says, and the wall of famous faces will feature "products of the American Dream."
  • One of the completed murals took scaffolding to complete, at 5816 Georgia Avenue.

    • What they're saying: D.C.'s murals have "transformed District corridors into works of art that reduce graffiti and strengthen community pride," said the interim head of DPW, Anthony Crispino.

    The murals:

  • Ward 1: Ben's Chili Bowl, by artist Aniekan Udofia
  • Ward 2: Blagden Alley Entrance, by Julia Kagan
  • Ward 3: Macomb Rec Center, by Demont Pinder
  • Ward 4: 5816 Georgia Ave. NW, by Federico Frum
  • Ward 5: 2001 5th St. NE, by Asad Walker
  • Ward 6: Henceforth at 1335 H St. NE, by Mia DuVall
  • Ward 7: Shrimp Boat Plaza, by Luis Del Valle
  • Ward 8: Southeast Tennis & Learning Center by Nabi Bilal and Candace Taylor