05/04/2026
This weekend, Creative Art Works Board President Brian Ricklin led a tour of CAW murals on 125th street as part of the The Municipal Art Society's annual Jane's Walk. If you missed this deep dive into some of our most iconic murals, you can take a self-guided tour anytime you like with this handy map.
1. "Harlem Sunrise." Start at the 125th Street Metro North station and proceed to the south side of 125th Street to view "Harlem Sunrise," which was painted by CAW Youth Apprentices (YAs) as part of Creative Art Works Public Art Youth Employment Program in conjunction with a plan to activate the 125th Street Pedestrian Plaza under the Metro North viaduct at Park Avenue. The New Harlem East Merchants Association (NHEMA), applied to the New York City Department of Transportation's (NYC DOT) Plaza Program to transform the underused space into a vibrant pedestrian plaza.
2. "On the Block" and "Double Vision." The management team of Shake Shack commissioned Creative Art Works to produce an exterior mural and internal wall art for their location on 125th Street in Harlem, because they recognize CAW’s Public Art Youth Employment programs connect stakeholders to their communities. Both Creative Art Works and Shake Shack operate from an asset model, which recognizes that young people bring a lot to the table, including creativity, energy, enthusiasm and valuable insights about their own neighborhoods. It feels as if Shake Shack and CAW go together like burgers and fries.
3. "Harlem: Past, Present, Future." Head to the bottom of the escalators at Whole Foods to view this triptych about local Harlem history, including the Apollo Theater, Hotel Theresa, and the Harlem Boys Choir. These paintings were completed by YAs from A. Philip Randolph Campus High School.
4. "Harlem Heat" was commissioned by Trader Joe’s for their 125th Street location in the heart of Harlem. Trader Joe’s wanted a mural by young artists that expressed the spirit and vitality of this historic neighborhood. Both murals can be seen near the registers on the lower level.
5. "How Do I See Myself?" The title of this mural was inspired by Willie Walker, Manager of the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building Plaza where the mural is located. The subject of the mural is the young artists themselves, who symbolize the past, present and future, as well as their tremendous potential. Their faces are set against a variety of symbols, patterns and colors that reference the contributions of the African American and Hispanic American cultures and ways they contribute to creating and sustaining a healthy community for young people to thrive.
And that concludes our tour! We hope you enjoyed it! To find out more about these and scores of other CAW murals, check out the mural map on our website. The cross platform web app works on desktops and both OSX and Android handheld devices. https://www.creativeartworks.org/mural-map
