The Murals of Carlsbad, California

Carlsbad is a seaside resort city located 35 miles north of San Diego. It ranks among the nation’s top 20 wealthiest communities, and is the 5^th richest city in the state of California. Referred to as “The Village by the Sea” by the locals, it is a tourist destination with nearby attractions including Legoland Resort, Sea Life Aquarium, beaches and campgrounds, golf resorts, and The Flower Fields showcasing acres of beautiful and colorful ranunculus each spring. In 2009 we visited The Flower Fields, but didn’t take the time to explore Carlsbad at all, so during our visit in April 2018 we decided to spend an afternoon doing just that.

We found it charming, as you might expect, but what we enjoyed the most were the town’s murals. We printed a mural map, and took off on a treasure hunt, trying to track down each one. The list can be a moving target, as some of the murals are only on display for a while, and new ones take their place. With so much talent and creativity on display, it was one delightful discovery after another. The subjects ran the gamut from serious to frivolous, futuristic to historical, and whimsical to thoughtful.  I especially liked the mural of Cecil the Lion, a memorial to a beautiful lion killed by an American dentist on Safari in Zimbabwe 2015. 

These murals add a bright splash of color to downtown Carlsbad, and it seems that these comprised the majority of the pictures we took during our visit. (I did sneak in a few non mural pictures, too!)