Old North End murals tell stories of this Burlington neighborhood

Megan Stewart, Burlington Free Press
·3 min read

Burlington is a city full of murals. This story explores the murals that adorn the 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.

North Avenue Juneteenth mural

The mural "Absolute Equality" was created in honor of Juneteenth in 2021. It can be found on the outside of Opportunities Credit Union at 92 North Avenue.
The mural "Absolute Equality" was created in honor of Juneteenth in 2021. It can be found on the outside of Opportunities Credit Union at 92 North Avenue.

One of the most vibrant and explicitly meaningful murals in the Old North End is located on 92 North Ave. at the northwest edge of the neighborhood. The painting, called Absolute Equality, combines striking splashes of color with rich imagery and prose symbolizing the history and on-going plight of Black Americans. Absolute Equality draws inspiration from African fabric patterns, the modern day Black Lives Matter movement, the emancipation proclamation and the 1865 proclamation that declared Black Americans slaves no longer − the basis for the Juneteenth holiday and from which the mural got its name. The mural was commissioned in 2021 in honor of the Civil Rights holiday by the Burlington City Arts and the Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. It was painted by New England artist and activist duo Tyler Ives and Sara Lynne Leo of Oh My! Murals.

Psychedelics at Nunyuns Bakery and Cafe

Late Burlington artist Tony Shull slapped this wacky, psychedelic-themed mural on the side of Nunyun's Bakery and Café, which is located at 139 N Champlain Street.
Late Burlington artist Tony Shull slapped this wacky, psychedelic-themed mural on the side of Nunyun's Bakery and Café, which is located at 139 N Champlain Street.

Five minutes away, affixed to the outside of Nunyuns Bakery and Cafe, hangs an "eye"-catching, psychedelic-like mural, composed of abundant small images one might glimpse if they were, well, on psychedelics: a bipedal egg licking an ice cream cone, a smiley waving clock, a precarious ladder to heaven and more. The longer one stares, the stranger (and more complex) the mural becomes. The untitled painting was created in 2017 by prolific local artist Tony Shull, whose beloved wacky and kooky art can still be found outside and inside Burlington businesses, despite his death in 2021.

Diversity and agriculture at Sustainability Academy playground

Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes
Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes

Barely a minute away from Nunyuns Bakery and Cafe, two inconspicuous but nonetheless heartwarming murals are nestled inside the Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes playground. Although partially visible from the street, the artworks − the bottom one featuring smiling children and the upper one giant-sized vegetables − are easy to miss. Painted directly on the brick, the lower mural is slightly faded in some areas, but the celebration of Burlington's diverse community and agricultural roots remains as palpable as ever. If one looks closely, the bottom mural references prominent agricultural hubs, such as the Intervale neighborhood and natural area, the Sara Holbrook Center and Shelburne Farms.

Medicine woman at ONE Community Center

Moringa the Medicine Woman is just one mural in the Afro-Pollinator series by local collective Juniper Creative Arts, a Black-Dominican artist family. Moringa is located on the back of the O.N.E Community Center at 20 Allen Street.
Moringa the Medicine Woman is just one mural in the Afro-Pollinator series by local collective Juniper Creative Arts, a Black-Dominican artist family. Moringa is located on the back of the O.N.E Community Center at 20 Allen Street.

Just a three-minute walk-away at ONE Community Center on Allen Street, a glowing, winged Moringa the medicine woman beams while holding what looks to be stardust in her cupped palms. According to the mural's artists, local Black-Dominican family collective Juniper Creative Arts, Moringa represents truth and inner healing. Commissioned by the Champlain Housing Trust and completed in 2021, the mural is part of Juniper Creative Arts' Afro-Pollinator Series, which likens endangered flora and fauna to similarly vulnerable people of color. The "Earthseed" quote is lifted from Parable of a Sower, a science fiction book written by acclaimed Black-American writer Octavia Butler.

Neighborhood mural on a North Union Street fence

Shapes and Colors, a large community mural composed of vibrant and splatter plywood shapes, occupies a fence on the corner of North Union Street and North Street.
Shapes and Colors, a large community mural composed of vibrant and splatter plywood shapes, occupies a fence on the corner of North Union Street and North Street.

Roughly 10 minutes west on North Union Street, large kaleidoscopic shapes adorn a wooden fence. A cheerful sight from a distance, the mural's real magic lies with its details. Each shape, which looks like splattered paint droplets, contains small images, including patterns, faces, animals, unidentifiable creatures (such as the robot-like figure pictured above presumably named Toby) and even tinier shapes. Called Shapes and Colors, the plywood mural was painted by Old North End residents in 2018 during the neighborhood's annual Ramble event.

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Old North End: Touring Burlington murals