The charming town of Hattiesburg, Mississippi has transformed in the last few years into a place for colorful walls that showcase artists from around the country. They rival bigger cities like Chattanooga, Nashville, and Atlanta.
Visitors can pick up a map from the visitors center with QR code maps or visit hattiesburgpublicart.org for more information. We’ve broken down these incredible murals into neighborhoods, but this is far from an exhaustive list. You never know when you might find a new one!
Midtown Murals
Located on the side of a building near T-Bones Records and Cafe, this mural by River Prince highlights Hattiesburg’s role as the Birthplace of Rock n Roll. Few know about the early recordings that took place here before Ike Turner and “Rocket 88.”
The Wonderful Day mural, painted by Ricardo Moody, is also nearby. It incorporates a quote from author Maya Angelou.
The Let’s Go mural by artist Spence Townsend is near the Hattiesburg Zoo and features a series of animals riding bikes.
Located in an unassuming lot, Suffrage by Heidi Pitre honors 100 years of women’s suffrage with a girl holding her voter registration card in one hand and a grocery list in another.
Downtown Murals
There are a number of older murals in downtown Hattiesburg but I haven’t been able to source the artists. If you know them, leave the information in the comments! They feature musicians and notable figures in town. The top left is Daniel Dixon.
The Hub City Smile mural, also by River Prince, is found near Southern Prohibition Brewery and has a quote from Mother Theresa.
The West Pine Street Parking Garage has a mural that denotes Hattiesburg’s role as a hub. In the alley behind the Saenger Theater, home to the Hattiesburg Pocket Museum, is another parking deck mural. Popular muralist Kelsey Montague has one of her What Lifts You Murals with dragonflies up the side of the building.
Another recent addition is Courage, another mural by River Prince, which honors the sacrifice of Hattiesburg locals, including the nurses and soldiers that made the city what it is today. The train and downtown buildings are also highlighted.
Spread Your Wings is a stunning piece by Avery Orendorf that showcases a hummingbird in flight. It was painted in 2021.
Longleaf Trace Murals
Perhaps the most incredible mural in Hattiesburg, and certainly the largest, can be found on the city’s rails to trails path, the Longleaf Trace. Together as One by Ivan Roque runs through a tunnel on the paved path and features local plant and animal life.
PIN IT
Visited Hattiesburg for Moher’s Day just to take a train ride and to go eat, the lady at the train station gave us brochures of Hattiesburg so that we could find things to do, she gave us the Art brochure so we just decided to go around to see the art. I must say it was a beautiful scavenger hunt even though we didn’t see everything since we were walking, but he majority made the adventure excellent. Beautiful work Hattiesburg Artist! I give you two thumbs up. Planning to comeback to see the rest, I must say the map was a little off, but that was ok.
The artist for the Mississippi Music mural downtown is my husband Daniel Dixon. He painted it while he was an undergrad at Southern Miss as a senior project.
Thanks for sharing, Erin! I’ll update.