Wonders of Radio Mural (Kids Corner Mural), CVS, 43rd at Locust, West Philadelphia

In Albums: Philadelphia murals

Jun 17th, 2011, by Alex Zorach

This is a mural in Philadelphia, PA, on the CVS at the corner of 43rd and Locust in West Philly. The title of the mural is Wonders of Radio, and it was created by David McShane; locally it is referred to as the Kids Corner mural. This photo is taken from the southernmost end of the CVS parking lot.

This mural has a lot going on, and I cannot possibly describe this whole mural verbally, but I will say what stands out to me. The mural centers around a radio, with wxpn written prominently on it. In this photo, the radio is somewhat obstructed by the power box and parked car. WXPN, 88.5 is a public radio station in Philadelphia, which has a mural arts program; this is the sevenths and final mural in a series created through this program.

I find this mural to overall have a somewhat cosmic theme. The night sky downplays the city skyline and highlights the moon and stars. The trumpet and the blue Chucks (Converse all stars shoes) also stand out to me. Visually, some features that I did not initially notice when first viewing this mural are the contents of the various spheres. Although these boldly contrast with the background and other objects of the mural, something about them create a visually downplayed effect...but when you look closely you see a different scene or item depicted in each circle.

Lastly, but perhaps the first thing I noticed about this mural, is the organic and almost tree-like structure of the flows emanating from the radio. Is it music, or is it vegetation? In my mind, this creates an analogy of public radio as part of the urban ecology, an analogy that I welcome and embrace wholeheartedly, as someone who deeply appreciates public radio.