Bushwick's Warehouse Murals and the Stories Behind the Walls
A 90-minute walk from the Graff Tours studio in Bushwick past warehouse walls painted top to bottom, with a guide who explains who made them.
Graff Tours keeps a graffiti studio at 282 Meserole Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and this walk leaves from its door at 1:00 PM. For the next 90 minutes a guide takes the group through the blocks of warehouse buildings around it, where whole outside walls carry murals, and talks through the stories behind them.
The listing calls the guide an insider, and the point of the walk is the backstory: who painted a wall and how the style works. The walk ends back at the studio where it started.
The ticket covers a local guide for the 90-minute walk. Gratuities are not included, and there is no hotel pickup: everyone meets at the studio.
Brooklyn Street Art Tour90 minutes on foot from the Graff Tours studio at 282 Meserole St, Bushwick. Departs 1:00 PM; arrive 15 minutes early.www.viator.comWhy the Mural Count Keeps Moving
The booking listing promises more than 50 multicolored murals across the warehouse blocks and names works by Danielle Mastrion, Fumero, Giz, Blek le Rat and Dasic. Graff Tours' own page for the same walk says more than 25.
The listing itself tells you to see the walls before it's too late, so treat the artist names as a sample of what may be up on the day. Recent travelers describe the guide explaining how graffiti styles have evolved and what drives the artists.
The People Who Lead the Walk
Graff Tours' staff page lists graffiti writers in residence alongside Audrey, known as Bytegirl, a street art photographer the company describes as friends with many of the artists. Travelers this year name Audrey most often, and one in May named Lia, a street artist herself.
One August traveler found the route dull, said the guide had to shout over street traffic, and left partway through. Traffic noise comes with these streets, so stay close to the guide.
Getting to 282 Meserole Street
The walk meets at the Graff Tours studio, 282 Meserole Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206. The operator says the closest subway stop is Montrose Avenue on the L train.
The listing asks you to arrive 15 minutes early, and the operator's booking notes say anyone arriving after the start time will not join and will be charged to reschedule. The walk finishes back at the studio.
Weather, Prices and the Refund Line
The operator says its tours run rain or shine, may be cancelled in dangerous weather, and asks you to call 201-397-9138 in bad weather. A September traveler noted that much of the route is in the sun, so a hat helps on warm days.
Adults pay USD 25; everyone 17 and under and 60 and over pays USD 20, and each booking needs an adult. One booking takes up to ten travelers.
Cancel at least 24 hours before the start for a full refund; inside 24 hours there is none. The listing also lets the operator cancel when too few people book. Tips are extra; Graff Tours says they are never expected and that typical households leave USD 5 per person.
Have lunch in Bushwick, be at the studio door by 12:45, and by 2:30 you are back where you started with a list of names to look up on the next wall you pass.