The mural craze has hit Murfreesboro.

mur-al (noun): A painting or other work of art executed directly on a wall.

Murals can make a fun photo op and bring unique character to a town. These are just some of the colorful murals you can find throughout Murfreesboro and Smyrna; there are many more. Many of these murals are on the walls of independent, locally-owned businesses, providing contrast to the corporate logos found in multiple towns across the country.

One of Murfreesboro’s oldest wall murals is a coastal scene located on the side of the Blue Coast Burrito, located at 1122 Memorial Blvd.

The many colors of the sky form the backdrop of a mural of a dog looking upwards on the wall at Aberlea Veterinary Medicine, 511 Memorial Blvd. in Murfreesboro.

A team of artists from The Experience Community Church painted a mural at the corner of College and Church streets just off of the Murfreesboro Public Square in 2023. It features a huge butterfly and a colorful floral display.

Mexico Tipico, 2021 S. Church St., features an ornate creation by Jose Fernando Vargas featuring a tropical bird, a lady whose face is adorned with the colors of the Mexican flag, and other elements such as flowers and butterflies.

The mural at Reliant Realty at 640 Broadmor Blvd. makes a great photo backdrop and encourages viewers to “Love where you live.”

The mural at Enchanted Planet is by local artists Ryan Frizzell and Meagan Armes. It features a tropical scene with lush foliage, a monkey and an assortment of birds—as well as a silhouette of Tinker Bell and a phoenix. For those who may remember, the phoenix is a throwback to the original Enchanted Planet location. Enchanted Planet, located at 525 SE Broad St., sells eclectic gifts, incense, tapestries, CBD, artwork and more.

Frizzell and Armes have created several other outdoor and indoor art pieces, such as the murals at Dave’s Cave and at The Bug Man.

The “Circles and Bugs” mural on display at The Bug Man is a colorful, bug-related project featuring bees, ladybugs, ants, grasshoppers and a beautiful butterfly. The Bug Man, which specializes in residential pest control services, is located at 314 W. Lokey St., Murfreesboro.

The work at Dave’s Cave, 216 W. Vine St. in downtown Murfreesboro, includes a myriad of “cassette title blocks,” which include the names of prominent bands and musicians in Murfreesboro. It features a sign that says “I (heart) The Boro.” The nearby “Geometric Wall” mural is composed of brightly-colored geometric shapes and patterns created by David Bell.

Artists Cara Brown and Cynthia Wallace comprise The Iron Brush Mural Company. They paint murals throughout Middle Tennessee, and they have a blog that includes a few free tutorials at ironbrushmurals.com.

The “Tennessee Tri Star Rainbow” mural by Iron Brush features the Tri Star symbol from the Tennessee State Flag set against a rainbow background. It is on the Lytle Street side of the Catron & Fowler Law Office, 303 N. Walnut St.

Iron Brush Mural Co. has created several more outdoor and indoor murals in town. One of these is The “Good Things Happen Here” on the side of Liz Leigh Bridal Studio, 224 W. Main St. in downtown Murfreesboro. It is a mural in blue and pink shades with white lettering.

Another sweet Iron Brush Mural Co. creation resides just outside the entrance of Murfreesboro’s Donut Country, at 1311 Memorial Blvd.

The company also created one at the corner of North Walnut and West College streets with the word “Murfreesboro” along with the geographical center of the state marker and the historic courthouse included in the wording. This street corner in front of the Heritage Center and Main Street Murfreesboro offices (225 W. College St.) provides a good blue Murfreesboro photo op.

Terrell Johnson and Vincent Mosley have painted murals on four Rutherford County Domino’s Pizza stores.

Carmen’s Taqueria, 206 W. Northfield Blvd., sports another piece by Johnson and Mosley, this one featuring some Hispanic characters.

The “Lightbulbs Flag” mural is a flag design backdrop with light bulbs added and created by TMA Murals for screen printing shop The Very Idea! (626 W. College St.). The business does custom embroidery and also offers vinyl decals, stickers, awnings, vehicle wraps, banners and other printed materials.

The mural at Doodles Kitchen & Bakery, 117 E. Vine St., features a group of friends in a bus traveling around Murfreesboro. One of those friends, Patty Marschel, wrote that “We want the mural to honor friendship and community. Both mean so much to all of us.” The work includes a cityscape and local landmarks and was painted by a group of local artists including Norris Hall, Susan Gulley, Suzanne LeBeau and others.

Veda’s Flowers & Gifts has a set of white butterfly wings on its red door at 27 S. Public Square. The butterfly wings were painted by Momoski.

The “Leading Ladies” mural, located at Maple Street Medical Clinic, 130 S. Maple St., includes silhouettes of women who have been in leadership roles. Giving it an element of interactivity, the artwork has a companion website containing clues to help viewers guess who each of these leading ladies are—”each one answering the call of her own wise heart.” The mural, painted by Ginny Togrye with the help of the Rutherford Arts Alliance, celebrates the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

What was once a hodgepodge of graffiti hidden away in an alley, known by locals as “Graffiti Alley,” is now a colorful and eclectic mural collaboration by Rutherford Arts Alliance, Main Street Murfreesboro, Boro Art Crawl, and several others, located behind the Church Street Gallery, at 124 N. Church St.

The “Main St. Music” mural is a tribute to musicians with a design composed of instruments and musical notes. Painted by Travis and Alicia Maynard, it is located at Luna’s Nightclub, 527 W. Main St., Murfreesboro.

Slick Pig’s mural “Georgia to Tennessee” shows an American flag with a peach and a Cherokee Rose, the Georgia state flower, on its left side and a guitar and the iris on its right side. The owners of Slick Pig came to Tennessee from Georgia. Slick Pig is a BBQ restaurant at 1920 E. Main St., Murfreesboro.

The FatGuy Barbecue mural features a man at the grill cooking food for a happy crowd. The mural is at the FatGuy Barbecue at Kwik Sak, 904 NW Broad St.; FatGuy Barbecue is sold inside.

The mural along the portion of the Greenway walking trail underneath Broad Street between Dodge’s Chicken and Cannonsburgh Village is large and brightly colored, depicting various recreational activities that take place along the Murfreesboro Greenway system. Volunteer artists of various ages painted the mural, sponsored by Cultural Arts Murfreesboro.

The sun-shaped orange mural “It’s a Good Day to Have a Good Day” is located at Red Bicycle Coffee & Crepes, 15 N. Lowery St. in downtown Smyrna. This coffeehouse serves breakfast items, burgers, sandwiches and salads all day.

A wall of the Starbrite Car Wash & Auto Detail, 956 NW Broad St., displays a fun mural featuring a classic car, the Tennessee tri-star logo and a large lettering proclaiming “Murfreesboro, Tennessee,” as well as a “Go Blue Raiders” message.

The Hoover Paint Store on Jefferson Street in downtown Smyrna contains a tribute to Smyrna, a sizeable mural with geometric shapes and houses, and a section containing colorful hand prints.

The Avenue, 2615 Medical Center Pkwy. now contains multiple modern mural scenes so visitors can enjoy a photo op while they shop, once again courtesy of The Iron Brush Mural Co.

Fountains at Gateway, 1500 Medical Center Pkwy. also features a mural and other well-kept spaces for photos and walks.

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Explore these and the many other murals in the Middle Tennessee area.

Feel free to share photos of yourself at some of these murals with the Murfreesboro Pulse at facebook.com/boropulse or via contact@boropulse.com.

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