Be Nice: A Colorful Train Mural in Historic St. Elmo
A spontaneous stop near Chattanooga’s Incline Railway led me to a colorful neighborhood mural filled with clouds, stars, a steam locomotive and two wonderfully simple words: Be Nice.
Where Is the Be Nice Mural in Chattanooga?
The Be Nice mural is in Chattanooga’s historic St. Elmo neighborhood near the lower station of the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway.
The mural is painted on the building at the corner of St. Elmo Avenue and Silvels Lane, formerly home to Mojo Burrito.
I found it while exploring the area around Chattanooga’s Lookout Mountain Incline Railway.
I wasn’t searching for a particular piece of street art. An explosion of color simply caught my attention.
Covering the side of the building was a playful mural filled with bold colors, billowing clouds, stars, a steam locomotive—and a wonderfully simple message:
Be Nice.
It was impossible for me to walk past something this colorful without stopping for a closer look.
A closer look at the simple message that immediately caught my attention: “Be Nice.”
A Mural Made for a Second Look
From a distance, the mural’s bright colors are the first thing you notice. Large sections of green, yellow, blue, red, pink and white transform an ordinary exterior wall into something that immediately stands out.
But this is one of those pieces of street art that becomes even more interesting when you move closer.
A gray steam locomotive charges through clouds of white smoke, while a red, white and blue plume curls dramatically from its smokestack.
Stars, bubbles, sweeping lines and whimsical illustrated characters fill the surrounding space, giving the mural an almost comic-book feel.
Then there are the two words painted inside one of the clouds:
Be Nice.
It’s such a simple message, but perhaps that’s exactly why it works.
More Than Just a Colorful Wall
The mural’s location gives it additional context.
St. Elmo is a historic neighborhood at the foot of Lookout Mountain, centered around the lower station of Chattanooga’s Incline Railway.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press has described the Be Nice mural as paying homage to the neighborhood’s tight-knit community.
Knowing that makes the mural’s two-word message feel especially appropriate.
Finding a train-themed mural here also seemed fitting because I discovered it while exploring near the Incline Railway.
The locomotive depicted in the artwork isn’t an Incline Railway car—it’s a whimsical steam engine—so I wouldn’t assume it was intended as a literal representation of the nearby attraction.
Still, its location makes the train imagery a fun detail.
Moving closer reveals the locomotive’s wheels, rivets, steam and other details that can easily be missed in the wider view.
The Train Inside the Mural
The steam locomotive deserves a closer look of its own.
From the wider view, the engine is one element in a much larger explosion of color. Moving closer reveals the wheels, rivets, smokestack, steam and individual details that are easy to miss when you photograph only the entire wall.
If you’re planning to ride the nearby railway, my Incline Railway photography guide includes tips for photographing the experience and the views along the way.
This kind of unplanned discovery is one of my favorite parts of travel photography. I wasn’t following a mural map or looking for this specific wall.
I simply noticed something interesting and stopped.
Why I Rarely Take Just One Mural Photo
This mural demonstrates why I rarely photograph a piece of street art only once.
I started with a wide view that captures nearly the entire wall. That photograph shows the scale of the artwork and provides context for where it exists within the neighborhood.
Then I moved closer.
One photograph focuses on the Be Nice message. Cropping out much of the surrounding artwork allows the words and colorful characters to become the focus.
Another close-up concentrates on the steam locomotive, where the smaller details become much easier to appreciate.
The wide shot shows you the artwork. The close-ups show you what you almost missed.
Finding the Be Nice Mural
Two Words That Made Me Stop
Not every piece of street art comes with an easily discovered backstory.
This one made me stop.
It made me pull out my camera.
It made me move closer and look at the details.
And in the middle of all those bright colors, clouds, stars and steam was a reminder that couldn’t be much simpler:
Be nice.
Not a bad message to stumble across while exploring Chattanooga.
More Chattanooga Street Art & Photography
About Angela
Angela Addington is the travel photographer and writer behind Lenses & Latitudes. She shares firsthand destination guidance and practical photography advice for independent and solo travelers, women over 50, road-trippers and weekend explorers. Learn more about Angela.
