TALLER PUERTORRIQUEÑO CULTURAL ARTS CENTER
www.tallerpr.org
215/426-3311
2721 North 5th Street

Founded in 1974 as a community center and workshop celebrating Puerto Rican and Latin American culture, Taller Puertorriqueño includes a book-and-craft store and an extensive archive of art and resource material. The gallery shows the work of local artists and occasional traveling exhibitions. Nearby, at the Taller Puertorriqueño Education Center, 5th Street and Huntingdon Avenue (2557 North 5th Street), artist Roldán West designed a colorful, textured exterior mural that depicts Puerto Rican myths. Hours: Tuesday 1 p.m.–5 p.m. Wednesday–Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 215/623-6320 for information about lectures, workshops, and performances.

MURAL ARTS PROGRAM
PHILADELPHIA DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION
www.muralarts.org
www.gophila.com/murals
215/686-8366

Established in 1984 (initially as an anti-graffiti initiative), the Mural Arts Program has created more than 2,000 painted walls. This extraordinary, nationally recognized program emphasizes collaboration between the artist and the community—resulting in bold, colorful compositions that have altered the architectural landscape of the city and fostered civic pride. In the words of director Jane Golden, the murals "serve to provoke thought, to inspire dreams, to bear witness, and to remind people that they are part of a larger world." In 1996, the program became part of the Philadelphia Department of Recreation. Murals locations near Tour Stop 8 include:

2721 North Fifth Street (at Lehigh Avenue)
TALLER PUERTORRIQUEÑO
Artists: Staff of the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Completed 1986 (restored 1999 by Parris Stancell).
Notes: When the Mural Arts Program was in its early “anti-graffiti” phase, Taller Puertorriqueño was one of the initial murals. It was restored 13 years later by Parris Stancell, who is among four local artists featured in a 2001 WHYY-TV documentary called Mural. The dog-headed man in the center is a “vigilante” whose role in Puerto Rican folklore is to frighten bad spirits away.
Sponsor: City of Philadelphia.

2557-59 North 5th Street (at Huntingdon Avenue)
EL CORAZON CULTURAL DEL BARRIO
Artists: Roldán West, Danny Polanco, Joe Brenman, among others. Completed 2000.
Notes: Created for the exterior of the Taller Puertorriqueño Education Center, near the cultural arts center (see above), El Corazón Cultural Del Barrio incorporates mosaic tiles into a mural of Puerto Rican myths.
Sponsors: Butler Family Fund, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia Foundation, The Samuel S. Fels Fund, The William Penn Foundation, Independence Foundation, Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Fund, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Taller Puertorriqueño, and City of Philadelphia.

503 West Dauphin Street (at 5th Street)
PAS PARA VIEQUES
Artists: Joe Brenman and Danny Polanco. Completed 2001.
Notes: Pas Para Vieques celebrates Pedro Albizo Compos, a mid-20th-century Puerto Rican separatist.
Sponsor: City of Philadelphia.

Festive crowd in front of Taller Puertorriqueño Arts Center.

Young Philadelphian helping to create mural, El Corazon
Cultural del Barrio.

Taller Puertorriqueño. Mural restored by Parris Stancell.

El Corazon del Barrio. Mural by Roldán West, Danny Polanco,
Joe Brenman, and others.

Pas Para Vieques. Mural by Joe Brenman and Danny Polanco.

427 West Dauphin (at 5th Street)
PUERTO RICAN WOMAN
Artists: Michele Ortiz and Stephanie Campbell. Completed 2000.
Notes: Puerto Rican Woman is heavily framed to follow the uneven outline of the building. At first glance, the mural looks as though it stands free of any structure.
Sponsor: Philadelphia Empowerment Zone.

Puerto Rican Woman. Mural by Michele Ortiz and Stephanie Campbell.

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