Great art is all around us in the Little City and you don’t have to limit your art appreciation to strolling through an indoor museum. Thanks to the Arts and Humanities Council of Falls Church who compiled a self-guided Falls Church Art Walk, you can enjoy great works of art while also enjoying the great outdoors.
With the temperatures and the humidity dropping, it’s a nice time to explore the extremely walkable route mapped out in the Art Walk. The tour contains over 40 sculptures, murals, and architectural features, so it won’t be possible to cover them all in this article. But I’ve managed to capture a sample of the kinds of incredible artwork you’ll find all over the Little City, plus a few off-the-Art-Walk-map attractions.
Up, Up & Away
This uplifting two-story high mural was painted by Joseph Craig English in 2020. It’s easily visible from the sidewalk as you pass by Mr. Brown’s Park at 100 West Broad Street. A cloudless blue sky serves as the backdrop for several brightly colored hot air balloons sailing above a green landscape. One of the balloons carries the Little City logo.
A Walk in the Park
You’ll find this colorful artwork by artist Richard McMurry at the corner of Park Avenue and Little Falls Street adorning what used to be a simple utility box and is now a work of art. The printed vinyl wrap covers all four sides of the box and was installed in 2020.
Children United in Peace: Donkey Statue
This festive statue was sponsored by the Canadian Embassy and commissioned by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities as part of DC’s “Party Animals” outdoor art exhibit in 2002. At one point, the statue was located outside of the Canadian Embassy but it was later donated to the City of Falls Church and installed at the entrance to the Community Center at 223 Little Falls Street. The artist on record on the Art Walk website is the Henry Smothers Elementary School and you can find the statue decorated with the imprints of brightly colored little hands, a Canadian flag, Uncle Sam waving a flag, and other whimsical images.
Man Feeding Pigs
This might be the city’s most iconic sculpture. It sits on the sidewalk at Broad Street and Gordon Road, near the location of the old Don Beyer Volvo. Patricia Leslie penned the definitive article on the sculpture’s origin when she interviewed Don Beyer for the September 20, 2018, issue of the Falls Church News-Press. Read her article to do this artwork justice, and I’ll just say the sculpture was created by Mr. Beyer’s Uncle Richard and dedicated in 1984.You can find her article on our website: fcnp.com.
Mr. Dixie Sheet Metal Cowboy
If you head down Gordon Road just a short block from the Man Feeding Pigs sculpture, you’ll find a 12-foot-high tin cowboy pointing to the entrance of the Dixie Sheet Metal Works store at 111 Gordon Road. With a sharp red jacket and black cowboy hat, this towering art installation is hard to miss. He was installed around 1962 and originally comprised of a wind-turbine ventilator head, air conditioning unit parts, and sheet metal. The artist is unknown but their artwork is iconic.
Elvis Mount Rushmore
If you duck inside the tight parking lot beside Foxes Music Co at 416 S. Washington Street, you’ll find this whimsical mural by J. Woods painted on the side of their building. At first glance, it might just seem like a nice rendering of Mount Rushmore as we know it, but glance again at that musical legend leaning in from the right. Whoever thought of adding Elvis to the presidential icons carved into Mount Rushmore was onto something truly inspired.
LOVE Sculpture
This artwork was installed in October of 2025, after the Art Walk Tour was mapped, as part of the Virginia is for Lovers statewide campaign. You can’t miss it when you’re in the neighborhood of Cherry Hill Park and the Farmers Market. Designed by City of Falls Church Government employee and artist Ripal Patel, the structure is titled “Reflection: Diversity and Inclusion” and it represents the Little City’s values and commitment to democracy. Patel was assisted by watercolor artist Bill Abel on the sculpture’s letter O, which is covered in a vinyl art wrap that features a diverse range of people and places, while the other three letters are made of reflective steel so you can see yourself. Share your photos of the LOVE installation on social media with #LoveCFC and #LoveVA.
Lucky Strike Mural
It’s hard not to notice the gorgeous colors of the eye-catching mural painted on the exterior of the Lucky Strike bowling alley at 140 S. Maple Avenue. It takes up the entire length of the building that faces Annandale Road and features a close-up of a woman’s face among brilliantly colored Washington DC landmarks. The artist is Rigo Leon and while the artwork isn’t titled, it’s pretty unforgettable. This installation is too recent to be on the Art Walk but you’ll want to give it a look.
Pennies From Heaven
If you’re like me, you’ve been in and out of the office building on 6400 Arlington Boulevard and never once noticed an airplane made out of pennies tucked inside a rest area in the parking lot. Created by artist Courtney S. Hengerer in 2008, the statue is positioned horizontally on a tall base and its surface is covered with 14,000 pennies. Most of the coins are heads-up but, of course, the pennies on the tail of the plane are tails-up. This is not part of the Art Walk but still well worth a visit.
Up and Down
This last sculpture isn’t on the Falls Church Art Walk because it’s technically in Arlington County. But next time you’re on North Washington Street near Gresham Place, take a look at this unusual sculpture by artist Graham Caldwell. Installed in 2006, the concrete artwork appears to be a leaning tower that’s being propped up by a coliseum-type structure. Caldwell’s intent was to commemorate the buildings that have been torn down in Arlington, most notably the city’s original courthouse, which was razed in 1977.
