14. Flowers in the City in Hells Kitchen

Photo courtesy Port Authority of NY & NJ

In Hell’s Kitchen between 37th and 39th streets, between 9th and 10th avenues, there are several overpasses that are part of the vast circulation system that enables the separation of traffic between buses and cars entering and leaving the Lincoln Tunnel and going into the Port Authority Bus Terminal on 42nd Street. Now, two of the overpasses are the location of a unique mural by Brooklyn-based artist Anthony Padilla, called Flowers in the City.

Padilla’s work on the previously drab concrete and steel parapet walls on the bridges on 37th and 38th streets  brings jungle leaves and flora to the overpasses. Padilla says “My goal with these paintings was to bring a reminder to the people that walk by that although we live in a city surrounded by concrete, glass, and steel, our history lies in the jungles and forests of the natural world.” Flowers in the City is made possible by the Port Authority of NY & NJ, the Hudson Yards Hells Kitchen Alliance, and Manhattan Community Board 4. In the spring, the Port Authority plans to paint the parapet walls of 34th street and install planters on 34th, 35th and 37th streets.