Hertel Ave. | Eyes on the Streets

This is the second post about the murals found in the Hertel Ave area of Buffalo NY; it is a follow up to the previous post, “the answer is love“.

There are two large murals on Hertel Ave that feature well known people. The first is the Buffalo NY based rock band Goo Goo Dolls and the other shows author Mark Twain in conversation with John T. Lewis.

The Goo Goo Dolls were painted by Philip Burke whose illustrations have appeared in many magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone. John Rzeznik the band’s is the lead vocalist and guitar player while Robby Takac is the bassist as well as another vocalist (there have been other rotating members as well). Goo Goo Dolls appeared on the rock scene in the mid 1980s.

goo goo dolls, the rock band, mural by Philip Burke on Hertel Ave in Buffalo, on side of 2 storey brick building, large faces

Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) and John T. Lewis were painted by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra in his now well-known coloured shapes such as stripes or diamonds. Both Twain and Lewis were born in 1835, Lewis as a free Black in Maryland, Twain in Missouri. Lewis eventually settled in Elmira NY which is where Twain’s wife was from and where the lives of the two men first crossed.

mural by Kobra, Mark Twain and John T. Lewis

Photos taken April 2025

I’ve just learned that I missed murals of Jerry Garcia and of the ‘Rat Pack’ (with Frank Sinatra). If you are in the area, don’t forget to keep an eye open for them!

… and that answer is found in an alley behind Hertel Avenue in Buffalo NY

below: An intriguing orange and black image of a lion’s face by Jay Hawkins (aka Revolutionary Strokes)

large orange and black lion face, in a mural by Jay Hawkins

below: Vibrant flowers by Chuck Tingley

below: Hertel Alley Gallery – the “gallery” encompasses three blocks of Hertel Alley (runs parallel to Hertel Ave between Traymore and Colvin). It is the scene of the Hertel Alley Street Art Festival, first started in 2019. At present there are more than 20 murals. I haven’t presented all of them here, instead I have featured the ones on this building. The others will follow in subsequent postings.