Long Beach Murals Walking Tour (Self Guided), Long Beach
Long Beach's creative side can come from more unusual places, like its... walls. Think of it as one giant, sun-soaked art book you can walk through—except instead of turning pages, you’re sliding into more secluded alleyways.
The granddaddy among the murals has the priority: the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium Mural, a 1938 ceramic wonder now hanging out at Harvey Milk Promenade Park. It’s a tiled time capsule of beach life, harbor hustle, and good old-fashioned community vibes, all rendered in vivid color that refuses to fade into history.
Once the murals get younger, things get a little louder—enter The American Way by Tristan Eaton. It’s a pop-art punch in the face, layering patriotism with critique, and icons with irony. Based on a 1937 photograph, it shouts, questions, and side-eyes the American dream, all in Eaton’s trademark comic-book-meets-spray-paint style.
Feeling overwhelmed? Bumblebeelovesyou’s Deuces dials it back. It’s a scene that feels like a lazy Sunday: a kid, a dog, a skateboard, and a gentle reminder to slow your roll. Then Felipe Pantone does the exact opposite—his mural looks like it crash-landed from the future. With neon gradients, optical tricks, and digital static, it’s part glitch, part rave, and all mesmerizing.
Behind Hotel Royal, Dave Van Patten lets loose with his quirky cast of walruses in ties and three-headed thinkers. It’s surreal, weirdly lovable, and feels like the pages of a comic strip came to life after a strong cup of coffee. And for something with depth and drama, Dragon76 brings bold brushstrokes and fantasy flair straight from the Long Beach Walls festival—his mural dances between realism and dreamscape, all grounded in stories of strength and identity.
So give your neck a stretch—Long Beach’s murals aren’t just eye candy; they’re a full-on conversation with the city.
The granddaddy among the murals has the priority: the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium Mural, a 1938 ceramic wonder now hanging out at Harvey Milk Promenade Park. It’s a tiled time capsule of beach life, harbor hustle, and good old-fashioned community vibes, all rendered in vivid color that refuses to fade into history.
Once the murals get younger, things get a little louder—enter The American Way by Tristan Eaton. It’s a pop-art punch in the face, layering patriotism with critique, and icons with irony. Based on a 1937 photograph, it shouts, questions, and side-eyes the American dream, all in Eaton’s trademark comic-book-meets-spray-paint style.
Feeling overwhelmed? Bumblebeelovesyou’s Deuces dials it back. It’s a scene that feels like a lazy Sunday: a kid, a dog, a skateboard, and a gentle reminder to slow your roll. Then Felipe Pantone does the exact opposite—his mural looks like it crash-landed from the future. With neon gradients, optical tricks, and digital static, it’s part glitch, part rave, and all mesmerizing.
Behind Hotel Royal, Dave Van Patten lets loose with his quirky cast of walruses in ties and three-headed thinkers. It’s surreal, weirdly lovable, and feels like the pages of a comic strip came to life after a strong cup of coffee. And for something with depth and drama, Dragon76 brings bold brushstrokes and fantasy flair straight from the Long Beach Walls festival—his mural dances between realism and dreamscape, all grounded in stories of strength and identity.
So give your neck a stretch—Long Beach’s murals aren’t just eye candy; they’re a full-on conversation with the city.
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Long Beach Murals Walking Tour Map
Guide Name: Long Beach Murals Walking Tour
Guide Location: USA » Long Beach (See other walking tours in Long Beach)
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Sightseeing)
# of Attractions: 6
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.8 Km or 1.1 Miles
Author: leticia
Sight(s) Featured in This Guide:
Guide Location: USA » Long Beach (See other walking tours in Long Beach)
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Sightseeing)
# of Attractions: 6
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.8 Km or 1.1 Miles
Author: leticia
Sight(s) Featured in This Guide:
- Long Beach Municipal Auditorium Mural
- Tristan Eaton. “The American Way”
- Deuces by Bumblebeelovesyou
- Felipe Pantone’s Mural
- Dave Van Patten Mural
- Dragon76 Mural
1) Long Beach Municipal Auditorium Mural
Standing 38 feet tall and 22 feet wide, the massive glazed mosaic known as Typical Activities of a Beach and Harbor City is basically Long Beach’s ultimate throwback postcard—only in tile. Finished in 1938, it splashed across the arched façade of the old Municipal Auditorium, showing everything from beach fun to harbor hustle. At the time, it wasn’t just big—it was the largest mosaic mural ever completed under the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration. Talk about making a civic statement.
Let's jump to 1979: the auditorium comes down to make way for the Terrace Theater, and locals refuse to let the mural go quietly. In a community effort worthy of its own sequel, the entire work was carefully preserved and reinstalled in 1982 as a freestanding landmark. Today, you’ll find it standing proud at the juncture of the Promenade and Long Beach Plaza—once a parking lot, now part of the City Place Shopping Center.
Look closely, and you’ll even spot the signatures of the artists—Stanton MacDonald-Wright, Henry Nord, and Albert Henry King—woven discreetly into the border like a secret handshake. And in 2013, the site gained an extra layer of meaning when it was dedicated as Harvey Milk Promenade Park, turning this masterpiece into not just a celebration of Long Beach life, but a reminder of resilience, identity, and community pride.
Let's jump to 1979: the auditorium comes down to make way for the Terrace Theater, and locals refuse to let the mural go quietly. In a community effort worthy of its own sequel, the entire work was carefully preserved and reinstalled in 1982 as a freestanding landmark. Today, you’ll find it standing proud at the juncture of the Promenade and Long Beach Plaza—once a parking lot, now part of the City Place Shopping Center.
Look closely, and you’ll even spot the signatures of the artists—Stanton MacDonald-Wright, Henry Nord, and Albert Henry King—woven discreetly into the border like a secret handshake. And in 2013, the site gained an extra layer of meaning when it was dedicated as Harvey Milk Promenade Park, turning this masterpiece into not just a celebration of Long Beach life, but a reminder of resilience, identity, and community pride.
2) Tristan Eaton. “The American Way”
Tristan Eaton’s mural The American Way doesn’t just decorate a wall—it makes you reflect. The piece riffs on a famous 1937 photograph by Margaret Bourke-White, showing African American families lined up for aid beneath a billboard proclaiming “World’s Highest Standard of Living.” The contrast was striking then, and Eaton makes sure it still hits today.
Created for the Pow! Wow! festival, the mural is a spray-painted collage of layered images, bright colors, and bold textures that look fun at first glance—until you catch the deeper message. It’s Eaton’s take on the gap between the shiny promise of the American Dream and the much harsher realities faced by many.
By remixing history with pop-art punch, Eaton turns a Depression-era snapshot into a modern conversation starter. It’s loud, it’s layered, and it’s meant to stick with you long after you’ve walked past.
Created for the Pow! Wow! festival, the mural is a spray-painted collage of layered images, bright colors, and bold textures that look fun at first glance—until you catch the deeper message. It’s Eaton’s take on the gap between the shiny promise of the American Dream and the much harsher realities faced by many.
By remixing history with pop-art punch, Eaton turns a Depression-era snapshot into a modern conversation starter. It’s loud, it’s layered, and it’s meant to stick with you long after you’ve walked past.
3) Deuces by Bumblebeelovesyou
Bumblebeelovesyou’s Deuces is Long Beach street art at its most playful—a supersized snapshot of “puppy love,” and yes, the puppy is literal. The mural shows a kid stretched out, phone in hand, skateboard parked by his feet, and his trusty hush puppy snoozing right on his knee. It’s the kind of scene that feels equal parts childhood nostalgia and modern-day chill session.
Bumblebee, one of Long Beach’s best-known muralists, has a knack for mixing whimsy with weight. His work often touches on big issues—like child homelessness or the way technology tugs at our connection to nature—but he delivers those themes through bright colors, stenciled silhouettes, and wide-eyed innocence. Kids pop up on walls all over the world in his art, bringing with them a mix of freedom, tenderness, and the kind of playfulness adults always wish they hadn’t lost.
Deuces may look lighthearted, but like all of Bumblebee’s creations, it carries that undercurrent of thoughtfulness. It’s a reminder that even in a city buzzing with speed and noise, sometimes the most powerful image is just a kid, his dog, and a moment of peace.
Bumblebee, one of Long Beach’s best-known muralists, has a knack for mixing whimsy with weight. His work often touches on big issues—like child homelessness or the way technology tugs at our connection to nature—but he delivers those themes through bright colors, stenciled silhouettes, and wide-eyed innocence. Kids pop up on walls all over the world in his art, bringing with them a mix of freedom, tenderness, and the kind of playfulness adults always wish they hadn’t lost.
Deuces may look lighthearted, but like all of Bumblebee’s creations, it carries that undercurrent of thoughtfulness. It’s a reminder that even in a city buzzing with speed and noise, sometimes the most powerful image is just a kid, his dog, and a moment of peace.
4) Felipe Pantone’s Mural
Felipe Pantone doesn’t just paint walls—he bends them into the future. The Argentinian-Spanish artist has a reputation for being “light years ahead,” and one look at his work makes it clear why. His murals fuse graphic design punch, bold typography, and razor-sharp geometry, then dial it all up with neon gradients and optical illusions that feel like they’ve slipped out of a glitchy sci-fi movie.
What makes Pantone’s art so captivating is the way it seems alive. Stand in front of one of his murals and it’s static, sure—but shift your perspective and suddenly it feels like it’s vibrating, moving, or about to launch itself off the wall. It’s graffiti meeting the digital age, with a rhythm all its own.
In a cityscape full of steel and glass, Pantone’s work doesn’t just fit in—it supercharges the surroundings, reminding us that the future’s already here, spray-painted in dazzling color.
What makes Pantone’s art so captivating is the way it seems alive. Stand in front of one of his murals and it’s static, sure—but shift your perspective and suddenly it feels like it’s vibrating, moving, or about to launch itself off the wall. It’s graffiti meeting the digital age, with a rhythm all its own.
In a cityscape full of steel and glass, Pantone’s work doesn’t just fit in—it supercharges the surroundings, reminding us that the future’s already here, spray-painted in dazzling color.
5) Dave Van Patten Mural
Dave Van Patten’s art is what happens when 1960s storybooks, underground comics, psychedelic album covers, and 1990s Saturday Night Live humor all crash into each other—and decide to get along. A Long Beach and L.A.–based artist, Van Patten mixes dreamlike absurdity, satirical bite, and childlike whimsy into work that can be equal parts hilarious, trippy, and just a little unsettling. His murals stand out with crisp outlines and bold, cohesive colors that feel playful on the surface, but always carry a wink and a conscience underneath.
Take his POW! WOW! mural in Frontenac Court, inspired by the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s album cover. Instead of mustached bandmates, Van Patten’s lineup features unicorns with mullets, zombie cowboys, creepy businessmen, and a parade of oddball characters that feel like they wandered out of a fever dream. With graphic shapes and muted tones, the piece plays like a visual remix of pop culture and parody—equal parts comic strip and social commentary.
Take his POW! WOW! mural in Frontenac Court, inspired by the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s album cover. Instead of mustached bandmates, Van Patten’s lineup features unicorns with mullets, zombie cowboys, creepy businessmen, and a parade of oddball characters that feel like they wandered out of a fever dream. With graphic shapes and muted tones, the piece plays like a visual remix of pop culture and parody—equal parts comic strip and social commentary.
6) Dragon76 Mural
Dragon76 is a Japanese-born, New York–based artist whose work practically crackles with energy. His style is built on “coexistence”—pairing opposites like past and future, stillness and motion, good and evil—and making them wrestle, dance, or sometimes both at once. All of this results into his paintings getting often called “soul-touching,” with enough power to feel like they’re moving even when they’re standing still.
In 2016, Dragon76 brought that energy to Long Beach, covering the backside of the Edison residential tower with one of his massive street murals. It’s bold, fluid, and unforgettable—but also temporary, because that’s the catch with street art. It may vanish, fade, or get painted over, but while it lasts, it turns concrete walls into living canvases. Dragon76 reminds us that part of the thrill is knowing you’re catching something that might not be here tomorrow.
In 2016, Dragon76 brought that energy to Long Beach, covering the backside of the Edison residential tower with one of his massive street murals. It’s bold, fluid, and unforgettable—but also temporary, because that’s the catch with street art. It may vanish, fade, or get painted over, but while it lasts, it turns concrete walls into living canvases. Dragon76 reminds us that part of the thrill is knowing you’re catching something that might not be here tomorrow.
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