Admiring street art in Edmonton as the weather warms up
By Taylor Winnie Hughes on April 10, 2024
Edmonton is a city full of many different types of art, but some of its most unique art pieces are in free view for everybody and anybody. It’s much more enticing to go out when it’s not cold and wet. Now is the perfect time to plan a day of admiring Edmonton street art. Here are some of the many great places to find it.
- The Neon Sign Museum – These signs are located starting at the intersection of 104 St and 104 Ave. Some signs are only partially lit which adds to their charm and the vintage feeling of this place. Travel south on 104 St. and then turn around at the end of the line. The view is something you will only get here when you are facing Roger’s Place.
- The East side of the building at 14408 118 Ave – There are many different graffiti tags here, and they are all high quality. You can see the effort that was put into each piece, and they go untouched by other members of the tagging community. This is a known matter of respect for each other in this underground scene.
- The trains at the CN rail yard on 127 Ave – If admiring a motionless wall doesn’t excite you then there are other places to see street art. Perhaps the speed of a train covered in countless graffiti pieces is more for you. Challenge your friends to decipher more tags than you, and keep watch for the fact that each train should have its identification tag uncovered. It’s believed that leaving the identification bare will make it less likely for the paint to be removed because it does not affect the operation of the trains. Covering the ID tag means at least part of the art WILL be removed.
- Downtown walls and skateparks pretty much anywhere – If you still haven’t gotten your street art fill then Whyte Ave, Jasper Ave and nearly every skatepark in the city have tags to be found – some quality and some not worth the paint they’re made with. It is up to you to be the judge.
Edmonton has a lot of unique local art in the streets. I urge you to go look at this city in a new light and consider admiring its old ones at the Neon Sign Museum.