A Love Letter for You

The Love Letter Muruals. :] Never has Philly street art spoken so deeply to my soul.
I’ve always admired in passing, but there, is just something about seeing «Hold Tight.“followed by «If you were here, I’d be home now.» when leaving Kirkbride to drop cigarettes. Dejected and confused about what is truly going on with the one closest to you… and just having it all fade for a moment.
I’ll never let go and as time passes, mi casa is always su casa. No matter where that may be.

Absolutely obsessed. This is what made me fall in love with Powers. I wish he did more, in other parts of the city!

A guided tour is always good… but, time constraints did not allow me to do so. I did a double dose of Love on my trip in… Hit JFK plaza and LOVE park and then jumped on the El for the Love letters @ 15^th street… Short ride and cheap fares… Well, worth it.

When traveling, I often do a search on Unilocal for local flavor. This came up as a top result, and I’m glad we went on this tour. It’s $ 20 a person and currently done on the weekends, once on Saturday and again on Sunday.
You meet up at Mural Arts inside of the Gallery (Second Floor). After a quick intro, you start your tour on the subway. It’s a pretty cool way to see Philly and to learn about Stephen Powers (aka ESPO) and mural arts in Philly.
Bring a camera, OR plan on taking that line again to see all the murals again.

Welcome to Philly — your city of public art & brotherly love (and more recently, in a welcome act of inclusion, sisterly affection). As such, it is particurly fitting that the Phila. Mural Arts created this Love tour. I took my love for valentines day — and we had a fantastic time. Its nice to see the city beautifying our neighborhoods. I would highly recommend this tour — to be honest, every mural arts tour that I’ve taken has been wonderful.

Living in Upper Darby, I’ve taken the El for years to get into the city. There have always been murals visible from the train, such as the Islam is Peace mural (now being taken over by vines). All of a sudden, much to my delight, dozens more were added down the entire corridor.
As Philadelphians, we are very proud of our murals. We have the most murals of any city in the country, if not the world. Most of them (including A Love Letter for You) are coordinated by the city’s Mural Arts Program, which engages the entire neighborhood in the design and creation of its murals. Every neighborhood of the city has murals relevant to the people that live there. They tell the history of great figures in the community, remember fallen heroes, share the dreams of their children, or depict the community’s great achievements. I highly recommend taking one of the Mural Arts programs guided tours of West or North Philly (avoid Center City — too much traffic and the murals aren’t as interesting).
Bottom line is, if you want to learn about Philadelphia, you have to check out our murals!
Checking out «A Love Letter for You» will take you off the beaten tourist path, letting you see a completely different side of Philadelphia. Taking the westbound Market-​Frankford Line to 69^th St Terminal, you’ll go through West Philly, a neighborhood that has had its share of ups and downs in the last 50 years. You’ll see abandoned buildings and houses falling apart.
The murals echo the sentiments of the people of West Philly: regardless of their situation, there is love in this part of the city. They are definitely a community on the rise. Besides the blight properties, you’ll also see new houses and the brand new West Philadelphia High School. These murals show the quiet optimism of West Philly and the love they have. One of the things I like most about the murals is that they can be read as the love letters of West Philly residents to each other, or to their city, making them even more touching.
The whole ride takes about 15 minutes from City Hall (15^th St Station) to 69^th St Terminal (you can actually get off at 63^rd St and go back into the city as there aren’t any more murals past that point). After checking out the murals, you can catch a meal near 69^th St Terminal (I suggest Little Saigon or, if you are in a hurry, the Korean food court of H-​Mart). I also recommend going to 46^th St Station, and walking to Abyssinia or Ethio Café (two good Ethiopian restaurants in the area), or Manakeesh (a Lebanese bakery). Either way will let you see a very untouristy area, be it the diverse melting pot that is Upper Darby or the heavily Muslim area in between the University of Pennsylvania and West Philly.

It’s not often I say that I’m lucky to take SEPTA’s Market-​Frankford line to and from work every day, but it’s great to look out the window and see these simple, but touching and sometimes funny murals. This is probably something that they don’t talk about in the guidebooks but definitely a cool alternate Philly tour, especially for someone who is into art, graffiti, or a lover of love!

After taking the Market-​Frankford elevated El train to see Steve Powers’ Love Letter murals I understand why others have said it was one of their favorite Philadelphia experiences. I can easily say the same.
I researched doing the Mural Arts program’s official Love Letter Train Tour, which takes you on a subway tour of the murals with a guide for $ 17 per person. Instead I did the tour myself with my boyfriend, hopping on the Market-​Frankford line and searching for the murals as they zoomed by from 45^th to 63^rd streets. The upside is that watching for the murals out the windows and spotting them yourself creates an «I spy» type of experience that I don’t think I would have gotten on the official tour. The downside of the self-​guided route, of course, is that it leaves you without a guide. All this means is that even though I rode it twice (down to 63^rd and then back again) I didn’t even come close to seeing all 50. Official tour or no, though, you can easily hop on and off at the platforms if you want to see particular murals more closely.
The murals ranged from funny to sweet, from «I want you like coffee. I need you like juice. I won’t put you on the side like bacon. You can have me over easy» to «Your ever after is all I’m after.» The whole ride created an interactive, unique and touching experience that left me smiling. If you already have a train pass this is a free way to see parts of the city you might not have seen otherwise and enjoy what I would call a true Philadelphia experience.

My life is all about love and happiness. This mural suggests so much more is available in life that I am not yet experiencing. It was the inspiration for me to go to Harrisburg and visit my state’s capitol building. The place was incredible. I walked through the streets of this metropolis for hours just doing some thinking. I had so much on my mind. I have been in so many diffferent fields of the workforce. I did not even know what I was thinking about. That is how intense everything was. I was overwhelmed and content at the same time. My life felt empty and fulfilled at different times in my life. This mural said it all.

A mural tour… On Septa? I was confused at how this tour was going to work but am glad I went on it with an open mind. It is a very interesting experience because you’re on the Septa El Train the whole entire time (besides the stops where you can get off and look at the murals on the platform). It was such a wonderfully unique experience that I would highly recommend. It would be perfect for a date or one of those «lazy days». The murals were very urban yet very neatly done. Love what the Mural Arts Program is doing for the unsightlier neighborhoods! They really are transforming Philadelphia into something beautiful.

Love it. If that is appropriate to say about a love letter *blush*
It was a wonderful sight to see. Fantastic and one of my most treasured memories from this visit.
Go see it with someone you love. Go today.

Cast aside all thoughts and desires to be cool because if you ride the El through West Philly be prepared to start to spaz out. I can’t help myself from whipping my head back and forth, trying not to miss any of Steve Powers powerful murals every time I ride.
Words really fail to describe the simplicity and beauty of this project, so really, just go see it yourself. It is the cheapest art museum around.

Oh Steve Powers, what a magnificent gift you have given Market street.
These murals mean so much to me that moments after his book signing, I walked next door and got one of Steve’s pieces of art tattooed on my left arm.
This just makes me want so much more — and please, if you are reading this, find more of Steve’s work (look under ESPO), watch the film Beautiful Losers, do whatever you can to make this man elevate to the master’s status he rightfully deserves. Philadelphia, I hope you realize how wonderful this truly is.

I rode the El for the first time in over a year this weekend — and boy, was I surprised when I saw A Love Letter For You across the tops of the buildings. I had read about it on fellow Unilocaler Catherine L’s review and thought it was a really cool idea, but had completely forgotten about it until I saw the bright colors shining through the dingy train windows.
As other people have already said, the murals really make for a more pleasant ride. I was actually looking forward to my train ride home just so that I could see some more of the artwork! Perhaps my favorites so far are:
«Your ever after is all I’m after»
«Forever begins when you say yes»
«For what I want I can wait»
Beautiful artwork and an even more beautiful message — I can honestly say that I LOVE a Love Letter for You!

A love letter for you is an urban romantic poem in every sense of the word. It’s a series of 50 spray-​painted murals, (they are more like signs, really), located on the upper walls of buildings, businesses and homes from 45^th to 63^rd streets along the Market Street corridor and the EL in West Philly.
The artist, Stephen Powers, a native Philadelphian graffiti artist decided to create this temporary masterpiece which is not only a love letter from a guy to a girl but a love letter to his native city. His words are poignant, clever and fitting. They stay with you. «Co-​sign on Our Lifetime» — «We Share Receipts. We Share Sheets. We Share Defeats» amongst many others already written about here.
Unlike the other murals through the Mural Arts Program, these works were not painted to remain on these walls permanently and they will not be repainted or maintained. So go now, take the Market-​Frankford Line westward and see them for yourself, or take a Mural Arts tour to get more in depth discussion and story about each piece.

When I ride Septa I normally find myself trying not to make eye contact with the dregs of humanity, ESPECIALLY when I find myself riding on something like the El. And that’s the exact thing that makes the fresh eye candy of Love Letter a glimmer of salvation. Because rather than gaze a little closer into the pages of the book I’m clutching I get to immerse myself in the daydream of trying to figure out the love interest that our artist had in mind.
But beyond that it’s good to see Septa actually do something right for a change. Teaming up with a ground breaking organization like Mural Arts Program, and adding a fresh coat of paint, artistic opportunities, and perspective to some of the more blighted areas of Philly is a good thing all around. Looking out the window of most of these spots often used to lead to the desolation of abandoned buildings and misery. And now it paints a fresh story and a glimmer of revitalization. Here’s to hoping that they expand upon this breath of fresh air in the future!

This is hands-​down, the thing I love most about Philadelphia right now. It is my favorite public art project, ever. It is amazing. It makes me smile, laugh, and cry. And I love that it start out in my hood and becons westward. Never been to 69^th street? For shame. You’re missing a lot of the city, and a lot of history about the devastating impact of raised rail public transportation. Do yourself a favor and make the trip. Learn about the spirit of our gritty little city and the stores that still bust ass everyday to make it. Take along someone you love.

This warms my heart. There is no other way to put it. I feel like bursting into song and riding off into the sunset with the one I love.
«Remember sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn’t.»
It’s all about togetherness and weathering the ups and downs. I love love!

Love don’t live here anymore, they’d say. They’d say it with every shattered window in every abandoned building, with every homeless man pushing along his shopping cart, with every downtown gypsy tossing you her baby to steal your wallet (oh wait, that’s Europe). Some might say, «Love? Love flew the coup long ago.» It’s not Philadelphia, it’s «killadelphia,» not the «city of brotherly love,» it’s the «city of brotherly shove.»
Either way you slice it, some might think love has left our fair city. Steven Powers disagrees. If you travel along the Market-​Frankford elevated line in West Philly, you’ll fall into a puddle of adoration. Powers has has partnered with the Philadelphia Mural Program and painted deeply personal phrases all along the EL. Among them: «If you were here I’d be home now,» «Miss you too often not to love you,» and «Remember sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn’t.» In my hushed adoration, I fall for Powers and his love letters.

While friends & I were driving out to Drexel Hill along the train line, I got to see this amazing series of murals by Stephen Powers. These are real standouts in Philly, a mural-​heavy city. They’re very eye-​catching due to the colors used, and also because they’re generally all text and have the look of advertising from, say, the early ‘60s, but their message is one of love, without being cheesy, schmaltzy or «seen it before.»
I loved «Your Everafter is All I’m After,» «Forever Begins when You Say Yes,» «Open Your Eyes I See the Sunrise,» «High Five» and «Miss You Too Often Not to Love You.»
So if you want to see something fresh that will fill your heart, hop in the car or jump on the train. You won’t regret.