Nashville Murals Archives * Things In Nashville

The Silo Mural is one of the most famous murals in Nashville. Not because it is the tallest in Nashville, but because it actually has history and meaning. The silo mural of West Nashville is a historical landmark of an area of Nashville called The Nations. Standing 200 feet tall, it is the tallest building in that district. The mural is of a fellow that was a longtime resident of The Nations neighborhood. The back side has 2 children painted on it. It may not be the most colorful mural with its black and white hues. To me personally, it has the most honorable meaning of all the murals in Nashville. Silo Mural of West Nashville aka The Nations. Photo by: Things In Nashville Silo Mural History Head to West Nashville and drive along Centennial Blvd. Keep an eye out for a tall abandoned silo with a nice gentleman painted on it. Meet Lee Estes who is the fella you see as the silo mural. Lee Estes aka LD was 91 at the time of this mural and he had lived in The Nations since the 1920s. Throughout his life, he lived within sight of the large concrete grain silo that was owned by Gillette Grain Company at one time. As the neighborhood grew there was talk of tearing down the silo. Luckily this is one time the preservation of history prevailed. The 15+ story silo mural became a huge neighborhood event. People were gathering on other people's porches and patio bars to watch the awesome mural unfold. A Nashville historic icon in the making honoring a nice fella who watched the neighborhood grow. Who is the artist who painted the historic silo mural An internationally acclaimed Australian mural artist named Guido Van Helten. He is known for his realistic large-scale paintings that are so realistic they could be considered photographs. What is really cool, Guido tends to use a monochromatic color scale using black and white and similar tones which give the silo mural an old-school gritty feel that fits the silo and in this case, Lee's mural. Nashville Walls project and Southeast Venture partnered up in 2017 to commission the mural. The artist came to West Nashville to come up with an idea for the mural. Guido is not only known for his color choices being monochromatic as mentioned above. He is also known for using people as his subjects to be featured in the portraits. So, he set out to meet people in the community to find his subject. Silo Mural of West Nashville The Nations. The side with the children. Photo by: Things In Nashville Who is Lee Estes? The artist meets Lee ... an upstanding citizen of The Nations community. Lee volunteers at Saint Luke's Community Center which gives low-income families and seniors a place to gather, socialize, and have fun. In the past, Lee would often go to the center to hang out and have fun playing basketball and attending dances with others in the community. He later started volunteering by helping set up arts and crafts activities. Often times he helps the younger generations with their art projects as well. On the other side of the silo is another part of the silo mural. As I mentioned above Lee often helped the younger kids with their art projects. Standing well over 100 feet tall are two of the children of Saint Luke's Community Center. Here is an interesting article about Lee: Click here to read. Want to check out another famous mural in Nashville: Click here to see which one it is. Where is the silo mural located? Punch in your GPS or Google Maps the address 1407 51st Ave. N. Once you get in the area, it isn't hard to spot. There are a few restaurants and coffee shops in the area so finding a place to park isn't difficult. Actually, White Bison Coffee shop is probably the closest, and YUM!!! So, get yourself a drink, and walk back outside to view the silo mural of Lee Estes. You can get pictures of the mural of Lee Estes from the coffee shop or from the road no problem. Getting pictures of the children isn't as easy. So getting close, I can tell you it is possible. But ... here is a bit of a warning. I have NO IDEA if you will be trespassing or not. There were no signs posted as of 03/2023 that I could see, but you are still on private property. So .. it is completely up to you if you want to take the risk of getting close. So .. how do you get close you ask? If you get in trouble .. it is on you ... so try it at your own risk. Off of Centennial Blvd turn up 54th Ave N. You will cross some railroad tracks. As soon as you get across the tracks look right, there is sort of a gravel road. Drive up that gravel road .. you can't miss it. Please be respectful of the property by not leaving any trash (heck pick it up if there is some). No cutting donuts in the gravel area either. Dumb antics hurt other people as well by possibly not being able to get close to the iconic silo mural of Lee Estes and the children. Take only pictures, leave only footprints. Here is the Google Maps location