As I wrote my previous post featuring the public artworks I saw in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I decided to follow up with another one focusing on the murals in my own city. And what better way to start than to show you our claim to fame, the largest mural in North America!

The Glass City River Wall was finished in 2022 and covers 170,000 square feet over 28 grain silos. It’s meant as a tribute to the Native people who lived here, the Miami, the Shawnee, and the Dakota. Unfortunately, I’m quite ignorant about the history of the local Native peoples; I need to remedy that. The mural concept came from Los Angeles artist Gabe Gault, and it was painted by a local team led by Dean Davis. You can read much more about this enormous mural at the Destination Toledo website, here. (By the way, Toledo is known as Glass City because it became a world-renowned center of glass manufacturing in the late 19th century: tableware, bottles, plate glass for storefronts, fiberglass, and automotive safety glass, to name just a few.)

And while we’re on the topic of nicknames, Toledo has also been called Frogtown. The city was established on the edge of the Great Black Swamp, a place where frogs outnumbered the people and apparently made a pretty big impression on them. The nickname sticks to this day, and cute frogs have made their way into our public art.

This 65-foot tall frog mural beneath a bridge was completed by Dean Davis in 2025 as part of a mural project called “100 Works of Art.”  Davis’ River Gallery Foundation aims to make Toledo a riverfront arts destination. You can read more about their work at rivergalleryfoundation.com.

“Greetings from Toledo” was created by a team of artists who travel around the country making these “Greetings from….” murals for various cities. I can see many iconic Toledo symbols in this one (click the image to see them larger). There’s a Jeep Wrangler because Toledo has been the home of Jeep manufacturing since World War II. (I’m not at all into car culture, but the Toledo JeepFest brought 100,000 people to the city this year…) I also see the University of Toledo logo beside the logo for the Toledo Mudhens, our minor league baseball team. A mudhen is also called a coot, and there are lots of them in the marshes around here. You may notice the logo of Tony Packo’s Cafe too, a place made famous by Toledo native Jamie Farr in his role on the tv series M.A.S.H. in the 1970s. On the walls of Packo’s are thousands of (foam) hot dog buns autographed by presidents, actors, athletes, musicians, and more. This strange tradition started when Burt Reynolds dined in the restaurant in 1972 and, for some reason, signed a real hot dog bun. Read more details about this mural at the Greetings Tour website, here.

There’s an interesting story behind the “Toledo Loves Love” mural. It was created as a wedding gift for two women who had to leave the state to get married back in 2012, before same-sex marriage was legal here. I’m sure it was a wonderful gift for them, but it’s also a gift to the city as a reminder of what’s important in life. It was painted by artists Mr. Taylor and Mede, and got a fresh coat of paint in 2022. Every year the Equality Toledo Love Fest is held at the Love Wall, celebrating LGBTQ+ belonging, visibility, and community diversity. Read more here.

Unsurprisingly, I’ve noticed some amazing murals on the sides of tattoo shops. It seems a particularly good way to grab attention for a business focused on art.

“The Ageless Empress and Her Beloved Beings” is a fantastical work on the side of a law office downtown. You can read all about the symbolism in this dreamscape here. I was particularly happy to see the caterpillar, which you can see better in this close-up shot. (You can also see me reflected in the window – oops!)

As I edited photos for this post, I generally cropped out most of the surrounding buildings to show the murals without distraction, but then I realized that one of the best parts of this kind of public art is that it brings beauty to some of the uglier parts of a city. I’ve cropped out trash dumpsters, alleys covered in broken glass, vacant and rundown buildings, and so much more. Here’s one with a wider view, inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” It seems harder than ever these days to believe that, but I hope it’s true.

And speaking of Dr. King, I found him in a different neighborhood keeping company with another civil rights activist, Cesar Chavez. Rounded out by a lovely portrait of artist Frida Kahlo, this trio are on Broadway in South Toledo.

In the same area is this Green Lantern mural, which I’d always thought was a nod to the comic book character, but not so. The building houses a restaurant called the Green Lantern Diner, which was given that name in 1927, more than a decade before the comic book character made his debut. The diner’s name came from its proximity to the city’s railroad station and the green lanterns used there. And I’m glad I stopped by to take some photos because the owner is having the murals painted over so she can have new artwork created there. I can’t wait to see its transformation.

If I had to choose my favorite of all the murals, it would have to be this nature-themed one under the pedestrian bridge on Main Street. It was created by Dean Davis and Chilly Rodriguez and has been called a love letter to Metroparks Toledo for all they’ve done to improve quality of life for the people of our city. You can watch a video about this mural on the Metroparks Toledo YouTube channel, here. The video captures some other images that I didn’t manage to get in my photos. And you might notice as the artist Chilly Rodriguez talks in the video, he’s missing his left hand. So not only is he a talented artist who cares about his city, but he’s creating all of this with one hand missing. He’s just incredible.

I could go on and on and on about these murals, but it’s a bit overwhelming sorting through my photos and researching each one, so maybe I’ll do a second post later. I wish we had a single website that collects them ALL together with a map of locations, artists’ names, and backstory for each one.

There are quite a few other American cities known for having lots of murals. Philadelphia leads the pack with more than 4,000 of them.  Others of note are Tucson, Cincinnati, Miami, Baltimore, and Minneapolis. It seems public art is exploding everywhere and I couldn’t be happier about it.

I’ve been a long-time subscriber of a blogger who documents a lot of the public art in Philadelphia. I encourage you to go check out Neil Sheinin’s “Yeah, Another Blogger” and find some of his art-focused posts. Here’s one to get you started: https://yeahanotherblogger.com/2026/09/22/do-any-of-these-tickle-your-fancy-art-on-wheels-part-eighteen/

Whether you call us Glass City, Frogtown, or “The 419” (our area code), Toledo is a city with a storied history and a lot to be proud of. Yes, like many American manufacturing cities, this one is struggling to revitalize itself in a world that changes faster than you can blink an eye. But from what I’ve seen of the people of Toledo in my decade here, I know they’ll never give up trying to improve life in our city.