Step through the gate of the Wynwood Walls, the outdoor museum of street art that became the catalyst for the neighborhood's transformation and one of Miami's most visited destinations. Developer Tony Goldman commissioned the first murals here in 2009, covering the blank warehouse exterior walls of his properties with large-scale works by internationally recognized street artists. The concept was simple: take the blank walls that blight industrial neighborhoods and turn them into an open-air gallery that draws foot traffic and signals creative ambition.
It worked beyond anyone's predictions. Artists including Os Gemeos, Shepard Fairey, Kenny Scharf, and dozens of others have covered these walls with works that change with each Art Basel season. The Walls occupy an interior courtyard, so you pass through a gate and enter a compressed space of mural after mural, the scale of the works making you feel small and surrounded.
Goldman died in 2012, but his family continues the project. The Walls are simultaneously a genuine artistic achievement, a branded destination, and the primary engine of Wynwood's real estate appreciation. All three things are true at once.
That's Miami.