Historically, we associate urban art with vandalism: crude symbols painted on train cars and dilapidated buildings by miscreant youth.

However, in Denver’s up-and-coming RiNo district, and similar neighborhoods nationally, that perception is changing. Fantastic street artists, no longer constrained by a dubious witching hour work-flow, are now teaming up with local businesses to create a colorful overlay upon previously nondescript downtown edifices.

The effect is startling. It’s transformed the nascent business community into the most vivid stretch of road in Colorado, tying the locally-owned bars, breweries, restaurants, and music venues together with a bold and exciting design aesthetic. It’s also given the RiNo District’s First Friday Art Walk a unique outdoor element as it competes with other Art Walk offerings on Santa Fe and Tennyson Street.

Below are some of my favorite pieces. Make your way north on Larimer Street from downtown to see them for yourself!