Three Chicago Street Art Finds I Never Planned to See
A hospital mural, a Chicago Bulls commission and massive graffiti on a former chocolate factory—all discovered simply by paying attention while moving through the city.
Can You Spot Chicago Street Art Without Planning a Mural Tour?
Absolutely. While traveling into Chicago, I unexpectedly photographed three very different pieces of street art: the Mural of Hope at Loretto Hospital, Max Sansing’s Chicago Bulls mural in West Town and a massive ZWON graffiti piece on the former Blommer Chocolate factory.
None of these were planned stops.
I noticed each one while moving through the city, which turned an ordinary stretch of traffic into an unexpected introduction to Chicago’s public-art landscape.
Chicago has a way of making even sitting in traffic interesting.
While coming into the city, traffic slowed enough for me to start noticing the buildings around me—and, more importantly, the artwork covering some of them.
Before long, I had my phone out and was photographing what I could from the road.
These weren’t pieces I had researched ahead of time or destinations I had intentionally added to my itinerary.
They were simply part of Chicago’s urban landscape, appearing between buildings, streets and traffic.
If you enjoy discovering murals and public art while traveling, you can find more of my photographed locations in my Street Art Maps and Photo Spots by Destination guide.
Where Are These Chicago Street Art Pieces?
The three pieces are spread across different parts of Chicago, and I did not visit them as a formal walking or driving route.
I simply spotted them while traveling through the city.
Because these locations are not clustered together, I would treat them as individual stops or bonus sightings rather than one compact Chicago mural walk.
Finding Chicago Street Art From an Unexpected Viewpoint
Chicago is filled with murals, graffiti and public art, and some of it can be spotted simply by paying attention while traveling through the city.
That is exactly how I found these three pieces.
There was no time to scout the best photography angle or wait for perfect light.
I simply noticed them, grabbed my phone and photographed what I could before the view disappeared.
It is also a good example of something I talk about often in my Travel Photography Tips: some of the most memorable travel photographs happen when you notice what is around you rather than concentrating only on major attractions.
The Mural of Hope at Loretto Hospital
The first artwork is the Mural of Hope on Loretto Hospital at 645 S. Central Avenue in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.
The mural immediately caught my attention because of its scale and color.
It rises several stories along the brick building and combines bold geometric forms in turquoise, blue, coral, green, yellow, white and darker earth tones.
From a distance, the design can initially look like a giant patchwork of abstract shapes.
The longer you study it, however, the more figures and symbols begin to emerge.
The word HOPE stretches prominently across the lower portion of the artwork.
The Loretto Hospital Foundation identifies the artwork as the Mural of Hope and notes its connection with Gift of Hope.
What struck me most from the road was how completely the mural transformed the side of the hospital.
Even with streetlights, poles and other parts of Chicago’s streetscape crossing my view, the artwork still dominated the scene.
I wasn’t looking for the Mural of Hope and didn’t know it was there before I saw it.
It was simply one of those travel moments when looking out the window at the right time leads to an unexpected discovery.
Max Sansing’s Chicago Bulls Mural
The second piece is a 2023 Chicago Bulls mural by Chicago artist Max Sansing at 1601 W. Chicago Avenue in West Town.
It had a completely different personality from the colorful geometric mural at Loretto Hospital.
The West Town mural was one of three works created ahead of the Chicago Bulls’ 2023–24 season as part of the team’s “See Red” campaign.
The three commissioned pieces appeared in West Town, the West Loop and Pilsen, with different artists exploring different aspects of the Bulls identity.
Sansing’s West Town mural represented toughness and resilience.
He described competition, determination and confronting obstacles as inspirations for the piece.
A powerful bird dominates the composition, surrounded by human imagery and rich shades of brown, orange, green and blue.
The bird’s face was the first thing that caught my attention.
From where I was sitting, fencing, vegetation and other roadside elements partially blocked the mural, so I never had a completely clear view of the entire piece.
That limited view actually became part of the experience.
I wasn’t standing directly in front of the wall studying its details or photographing it from the ideal angle.
I was simply passing through Chicago traffic when this enormous work suddenly appeared.
That same kind of accidental discovery has happened to me in other destinations. I found the Love Blooms mural in Reading, Ohio while heading somewhere else entirely.
ZWON Graffiti on the Former Blommer Chocolate Factory
The third piece is large-scale graffiti spelling ZWON across the former Blommer Chocolate factory at 600 W. Kinzie Street.
This one looked completely different from the first two.
At first glance, its enormous white forms can almost appear abstract.
Once you recognize the lettering, however, they clearly spell ZWON.
Zwon is a Chicago graffiti artist known for incorporating his street name into large-scale pieces around the city.
The artist has explained that the name itself does not carry a particular meaning; he simply likes the letters and experiments with incorporating them into increasingly ambitious work.
His oversized lettering is a good example of how traditional graffiti can become almost architectural when expanded across an industrial wall.
The Blommer Chocolate Factory Connection
The building beneath the graffiti has its own place in Chicago history.
The former Blommer Chocolate Company factory at 600 W. Kinzie Street opened in 1939 as the company’s original manufacturing facility.
Chocolate manufacturing continued there for roughly 85 years before Blommer ended production at the Chicago plant in 2024.
For decades, one of the factory’s most memorable contributions to the surrounding neighborhood wasn’t something you could see at all.
Chicagoans regularly recognized the sweet smell of chocolate drifting through the area.
From my viewpoint in traffic, neighboring buildings and other structures blocked portions of the artwork, but those enormous letters were still impossible to miss.
What I first saw as simply another striking piece of street art turned out to combine the work of a recognizable Chicago graffiti artist with one of the city’s longtime industrial landmarks.
Three Pieces of Street Art, Three Very Different Sides of Chicago
What makes these three discoveries especially interesting is how little they have in common visually.
Yet I discovered all three in basically the same way: by looking out the window while traveling through Chicago.
That is part of what makes photographing street art so much fun.
Some murals are destinations you intentionally seek out. Others become unexpected discoveries along the way.
On another trip, what was supposed to be a simple driving day turned into a day filled with roadside attractions and 33 murals, which I shared in my Route 66 roadside attractions and murals story.
Can You See Chicago Murals and Graffiti From the Road?
Yes. Some of Chicago’s large-scale murals and graffiti are visible from major streets and routes through the city, although what you can see depends on your direction of travel, surrounding buildings and traffic.
These three pieces are a reminder that Chicago street art isn’t limited to destinations you intentionally seek out.
It can appear on hospitals, commercial buildings, former factories and walls throughout the city.
If you are traveling by car, leave photography to a passenger or wait until the vehicle is safely stopped.
No photograph is worth distracting the driver or creating a traffic hazard.
How Do You Photograph Street Art From a Moving Trip?
When a piece of street art appears unexpectedly, concentrate on capturing a usable record of the moment rather than trying to create a perfect photograph.
For more practical photography advice, visit my Travel Photography Tips.
Chicago Street Art Quick Guide
Sometimes Traffic Gives You the Best View
I definitely wouldn’t recommend planning a Chicago street-art tour around getting stuck in traffic.
But this experience is a perfect example of why I keep looking around when I travel.
Some of my favorite photographs aren’t the ones I planned.
They happen between destinations.
From a train window.
While walking back to a hotel.
While turning down a street I hadn’t planned to explore.
Or, apparently, while barely moving in Chicago traffic.
I didn’t know any of these pieces were coming.
I didn’t have time to compose the perfect photograph.
I simply saw them, grabbed my phone and captured what I could.
That idea—taking the photograph simply because something catches your attention—is also behind my photography piece Take the Picture—Even If No One Else Understands Why.
And now I know a little more about the stories behind all three.
Chicago Street Art FAQ
What is the mural on Loretto Hospital called?
The Loretto Hospital Foundation identifies the artwork at 645 S. Central Avenue as the Mural of Hope.
Who painted the Chicago Bulls mural in West Town?
Chicago artist Max Sansing created the mural at 1601 W. Chicago Avenue for the Bulls’ 2023–24 “See Red” campaign.
What does Max Sansing’s Bulls mural represent?
The mural represents toughness and resilience. Sansing said competition, determination and Chicago’s willingness to confront obstacles inspired the piece.
Who is Zwon?
Zwon is a Chicago graffiti artist known for incorporating the letters of his street name into large-scale pieces around the city.
What happened to the Blommer Chocolate factory?
Blommer’s original Chicago manufacturing plant opened at 600 W. Kinzie Street in 1939. Manufacturing there ended in 2024 after roughly 85 years of operation.
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.
