Wynwood to the Design District: Miami's Art Spine

Wynwood Walls

The courtyard complex that started it all in 2009, a permanent outdoor gallery of rotating large-scale murals by the world's top street artists.

You're standing at the entrance to Wynwood Walls, and the story of this place is as unlikely as it is short. In 2009, the late developer Tony Goldman looked at this block of windowless concrete warehouses and saw what nobody else did: a canvas. He flew in a dozen of the world's best street artists, handed them spray cans and lifts, and told them to paint. The courtyard you're about to enter opened that same year.

Artists who had spent careers running from the law were suddenly being flown to Miami, put up in hotels, and paid to work. The results drew crowds. Then the crowds drew galleries, breweries, and restaurants. Within fifteen years, an entire warehouse district became the largest concentration of street art in North America.

Inside the gates, the murals rotate on a curated schedule. Outside them, the real sprawl begins: 50 blocks of uncurated work on every available surface. Buy a ticket, go in, and when you come out, keep your eyes up.