Philadelphia’s ‘Love Letter’ Murals Spark Neighborhood Revival

During the summer of 2009, artist Stephen Powers and the mural arts project led a group of West Philadelphia residents to create “Love Letter,” a public art project consisting of a series of 50 rooftop murals along the city’s market street corridor.

The murals, which are best viewed from the elevated transit line, collectively express a love letter from a guy to a girl, from an artist to his hometown, and from local residents to their west Philadelphia neighborhood.

This is their story in their own words.

With contributions from Malcolm Brown on camera and Tom LeGro and Mike Fritz on editing.