Maylands Urban Art
Maylands has a wide variety of urban art ranging from murals to sidewalk art. The Maylands urban landscape along Guildford Road is not particularly pretty but many of the older commercial buildings have had murals painted on their walls making the streetscape considerably brighter and more interesting.
We started from the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple on Guildford Road. The temple is usually open to the general public from Tuesday to Sunday however it was closed due to covid 19 when we did this walk. Cross the road and walk around number 281 to see all the Daek William murals and delightful Italian themed art at Pizzeria Amore Mio. There are a few surprises at the old garage, WIlliamson's Motor House, and the Salvos' Store shares some love.
Exploring the alley way beside the Perth BBQ School at 195 Guildford Road we discovered some more art including a Darry Perier mural on Sullivan Lane and a magnificent mural paying tribute to some giants of the music industry on Greenslade Lane.
Make sure you look at the beautiful artworks painted on the Roxy Lane Community Garden site. The planter boxes have also been dressed up!
From Greenslades Lane we walked through an access way back to Eighth Avenue, backtracking towards Sullivan Lane. On the way we spotted Robert Jenkin's Lily, a large mural on the side of Henry the Eighth and Anya Brock's iconic Giraffes on the corner of Sullivan Lane. Can you find the Maylands Street Games series? We found Monopoly but missed the test-your-knowledge world map and the Yellow Brick Road, which includes a vintage hopscotch game and connects both sides of Whatley Crescent at Ninth Avenue.
We headed back along Eighth Avenue towards Whatley Crescent and enjoyed a coffee under the watchful eye of Mrs S Harpon at Mrs S Cafe. Mrs Harpon, an early Whatley Crescent trader, was painted by Daek William. Whatley Crescent, east from Eighth Avenue, is a lovely shopping strip full of cafes and quirky shops well worth a visit. This time however we crossed the road and walked through the Maylands Railway Station following The Bee Inspired artwork which features decorative insect and flower themed artworks. There is a Dome cafe, housed in a beautiful heritage building, on this side of the railway tracks.
From Dome we walked west down Railway Parade spotting the bee inspired Robert Jenkins Art on the wall at Finespun Architecture. Further along is Check Mate by Tankateo before you pass Maylands Model Railways with it's cheerful paintings of Thomas the Tank Engine and friend Percy.
Walking over the Seventh Avenue Bridge we discovered an unusual tribute on the opposite side commemorating the original 100 year old timber bridge. From here we wandered along Whatley Crescent to the beautiful art deco West Australian Ballet Centre, built in 1897 for the Royal WA Institute for the Blind.
As this was part of a longer walk exploring Maylands we continued on from here to Bardon Park however you can easily return to the Maylands Shopping precinct.
The walk from the Fo Guang Shan Temple to Maylands Railway Station is about 1km, the remaining loop across the railway tracks about 500m so all up this walk will cover up to 2.5km depending on your start and finish points. Of course we stopped to admire all the art works and for a coffee so we spent about an hour and a half all up exploring.
If you are walking back along Guildford Road be sure to walk on the southern side and try to spot Journey Work of the Stars, a history of the universe, starting with the big bang and ending with Maylands as a locality, painted and placed on the footpath along Guildford Road. This artwork runs between Ninth and Eighth Avenue (past the old Police Station), and the illustrations are in chronological order, spaced at distances that reflect the approximate period of time between each major event. (We missed this one).
#maylandsurbanart #discovermaylands
Nearby walks
Maylands Peninsula - a loop walk around the peninsula taking in heritage sites and buildings, river views and several parks and playgrounds.
Bardon Park and Berringa Park - enjoy a picnic and a play at Bardon Park before enjoying a short riverside walk to Berringa Park and back.
Lakes Brearley, Bungana and Brickworks - a 4km walk around the lakes on the Maylands Peninsula including the Maylands Brick Works.
Swan River Ramble - the Swan River Ramble officially follows both north and south banks of the Swan River but this blog focuses on the southern banks between Burswood and Ascot Waters.
Kuljak Island - Across the Swan River is Black Swan or Kuljak Island which has no traffic so is a great place for a walk or a bike ride.
Baigup Wetlands and Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary - wander up river from Maylands to discover wonderful wetlands.
Claisebrook Cove - down river from Maylands you can walk the Tony di Scerni pathway to Claisebrook Cove which has a wonderful Art Trail to discover.