Take murals tour down the bike path into the New North End

April Barton, Burlington Free Press
·4 min read

Burlington is a city full of murals. This story explores the murals that you can see along the Burlington bike path and the New Old North End, part of a series put together by Free Press reporters that offer tours of the murals that adorn Burlington's various neighborhoods.

This is by no means a complete listing of all murals in Burlington. And because public art is essentially a living, breathing entity, murals will come and go over the next weeks, months and years. But this list (and the accompanying map and photo gallery) should give you a pretty good start for taking your own walking and/or biking tours of all the murals Burlington has to offer.

On the Hula building

On one side of a building in the Hula complex and right on the bike path in Burlington is this grafitti-styled mural, seen on August 3, 2023.
On one side of a building in the Hula complex and right on the bike path in Burlington is this grafitti-styled mural, seen on August 3, 2023.

Riding (or walking) the Burlington Greenway bike path provides active art lovers a chance to experience murals along the Lake Champlain waterfront.

Setting out from Oakledge Park heading north and ending at the Winooski River Bridge before passing into Colchester is a 6.7 mile trek. A majority of the art is centered around downtown, however, one has ample opportunity to marvel at natural beauty in addition to works of human hands.

The first stop is the side of the Hula building, a co-working space, where graffiti meets geometric art overlays the red brick façade. Tubed and angled shapes connect around what may be an industrious worker converting input to output.

Impressionism at Perkins Pier

A swirly mural from 2004 that depicts lake recreation adorns Perkins Pier in Burlington, as seen on August 3, 2023.
A swirly mural from 2004 that depicts lake recreation adorns Perkins Pier in Burlington, as seen on August 3, 2023.

Coming into downtown, on the side of the Perkins Pier building and next to a small playground, is an impressionist-inspired piece. Swirling sky and bird-turned clouds meet the undulating waves of a lake, presumably Lake Champlain, where a variety of people enjoy recreating on or near the water. A plaque from 2004 says the playground and mural come from a donation by Mindy and Maja Rose Freeman.

Pink haired girl

A building near the marina on King St. includes this starry-eyed, pink haired character with a "Champ" on their shoulder, as seen on Aug. 3, 2023.
A building near the marina on King St. includes this starry-eyed, pink haired character with a "Champ" on their shoulder, as seen on Aug. 3, 2023.

Just a little further down the path and across the water can be seen a variety of murals. One side of the building housing the headquarters of the Lake Monsters baseball team, the Spot on the Dock restaurant and Elbow Cay Harbor Store all have painted walls or fences where water motifs abound.  

Worth close perusal is the backside of a building near the Ferry Dock Marina where graffiti styled lettering and spray paint meets realistic and concept art in a collision of mixed styles. Pop culture characters also appear. A connected building bears an adorable pink-haired character with cartoon Champ atop their shoulder in front of a Burlington-esque background. The Anthill Collective, which consider themselves “aerosol technicians,” is at least one contributor to the artwork on these buildings.

On one edge of the building housing Local Motion , a bicycle rental shop, is a vertical piece featuring movement through wheels on a variety of vehicles and people in action.

Dedicated to A_Dog

The Andy A_Dog Williams Skatepark features a mural of its namesake, who was a prolific music DJ and skateboard enthusiast, along the Island Line Trail at Lake St. in Burlington as seen on Aug. 3, 2023.
The Andy A_Dog Williams Skatepark features a mural of its namesake, who was a prolific music DJ and skateboard enthusiast, along the Island Line Trail at Lake St. in Burlington as seen on Aug. 3, 2023.

Exiting downtown and after passing the Harbor Marina, is Andy A_Dog Skatepark with a mural dedicated to the park’s namesake. Andy “A_Dog” Williams was a prolific Burlington-based DJ and skateboarder who passed away from leukemia in 2014. His legacy spins on through art and skating.

On the bike path under Rock Point Road

A close up of a mosaic along the Burlington bike path at the Rock Point Rd. underpass as seen on Aug. 3, 2023. The mixed-media creation from Mary Lacy and Corrine Yonce depicts verses from "On Disappearing" by Major Jackson.
A close up of a mosaic along the Burlington bike path at the Rock Point Rd. underpass as seen on Aug. 3, 2023. The mixed-media creation from Mary Lacy and Corrine Yonce depicts verses from "On Disappearing" by Major Jackson.

If you expand the definition of mural to include mosaic and mixed-media applied to permanent surface, then the underpass below Rock Point Road certainly warrants inclusion. The 3-D application of bottle tops, tile, clocks, a toy train and other found materials beg to be touched and explored to fully appreciate. The poem “On Disappearing” by Major Jackson adorns the wall and the items, and in some cases words, in the artwork depict themes from the verses. The project creators are said to be Mary Lacy and Corrine Yonce.

'Love, Friendship, Truth'

The New North End of Burlington was in the process of getting a new mural on Aug. 3, 2023. The Odd Fellows Lodge on North Ave., the site of the North End Food Pantry, was being prepared for a piece that read "Love, Friendship, Truth" and included hands reaching to grasp one another on the building's side.
The New North End of Burlington was in the process of getting a new mural on Aug. 3, 2023. The Odd Fellows Lodge on North Ave., the site of the North End Food Pantry, was being prepared for a piece that read "Love, Friendship, Truth" and included hands reaching to grasp one another on the building's side.

In the New North End of Burlington is one prominent public mural which was still in development at the time of writing. On North Avenue near the intersection of Edgemoor Drive is Odd Fellows Lodge, which runs the North End Food Pantry. On one side of the building is a depiction of hands reaching out to grasp one another. The front bears the words “Love, Friendship, Truth” with rose buds and an eye marked out on the bricks that were painted yellow, red and purple. The Anthill Collective is creating this work, according to a story from WCAX.

Contact reporter April Barton at abarton@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1854. Follow her on Twitter @aprildbarton.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Bike path and New North End: Touring Burlington's murals