Alien Trompe-l'Oeil Murals
Secret Agent Man With Bird on Hat
400 Emerson Street,
Palo Alto, California
94301
Pelican with Money
400 Emerson Street,
Palo Alto, California
94301
Alien Saucer Crash
250 Lytton Avenue,
Palo Alto, California
94301
Spiro Agnew Pushing Alien in Stroller
281 University Avenue,
Palo Alto, California
94301
Nun with Airplane
436 University Avenue,
Palo Alto, California
94301
Lady Watering with Bird
526 Waverly Street,
Palo Alto, California
94301
Boy Fishing
380 Hamilton Avenue,
Palo Alto, California
94301
Robbers Mishap
300 Hamilton Avenue,
Palo Alto, California
94301
Garbage Man
136 Hamilton Avenue,
Palo Alto, California
94301
The Ornidontist
2741 Middlefield Road,
Palo Alto, California
94306
Sometimes referred to as the Palo Alto Pedestrian Series and at times called the Alien Trompe-l'Oeil Murals, several murals in downtown Palo Alto surprise visitors with how well they blend in with their surroundings while providing an image of surrealism to their real world environment. Trompe l'oeil is a French painting style which translates to "trick the eye". This means that the artwork uses shadows and other methods in an attempt to deceive the viewer into thinking what is painted is actually real.
These creative and imaginative murals were painted by Palo Alto resident, Greg Brown. They use aliens, spies, and a comical cast, to add some whimsy to downtown Palo Alto. Originally nine were painted in the late seventies as part of the "Palo Alto Pedestrian Series". Funding for the project came from a federal jobs program. Since then, although three of the original nine murals are now gone, several other murals were added, mostly through private commission.
Greg Brown moved to Palo Alto from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was two. His first mural in Palo Alto was painted in 1975. He passed away in August 2014 at the age of 62. Many of his murals are still enjoyed throughout Palo Alto, particularly the downtown area.
Emerson at Lytton
Two separate murals are on a building at the corner of Emerson and Lytton. The first is a secret agent walking on a ledge carrying a briefcase, wearing sunglasses and a fedora. A bird sits perched on his fedora. He is on the Lytton side of the building, when facing the building, he can be found on the far right end of the building, around the corner.
The second mural is a pelican exiting a window and can be found on the Emerson side of the building. 400 Emerson to be exact. He clutches money in his beak and is clearly making off with it after having stolen it.
Alien Saucer Crash
Located across Emerson, on the other side of the parking lot, is a crashed UFO, complete with aliens emerging. The aliens pop up in other murals around downtown Palo Alto. The building the saucer is crashed into is at 250 Lytton Avenue.
Spiro Agnew with Alien
Continue down Emerson, then turn left onto University. Walk two more blocks and then turn left onto Bryant. On the wall there, you'll find former Vice President, Spiro Agnew, pushing a stroller with an alien emerging from it. Spiro can be found on the Bryant side of the building located at 281 University Avenue.
Nun with Airplane
Continuing a few blocks down University, on the opposite side of the street, above a balcony, you will locate a nun holding a toy airplane, above a Peet's Coffee located at 436 University Avenue.
Lady Watering
Head back down University and cross Waverly Street, then turn left down Waverly. On your right, at 526 Waverly will be a woman watering her plants with a hose. She is looking down at the end of her hose in surprise because a bird has landed on the end of it. This mural was first painted back in 1976.
Boy Fishing
Continue down Waverly until you get to Hamilton and turn right. Practically across the street will be the Post Office. On the far side of the building, on the side of the building facing Gilman Street, is a boy fishing. The window on the side of the building is also part of the mural, and is fake too! This mural was first painted back in 1976.
Robbers Mishap
Continue down Hamilton until you get back to Bryant and then make a left. Walk around the first building, and on the side opposite Hamilton is a mural of two bank robbers and a robbery gone horribly wrong! One robber is dangling by the end of a rope, while the other, dressed all in white is falling to his doom, while clutching a briefcase! The official address is 300 Hamilton and the location is fittingly a bank.
Garbage Man
Continue down Hamilton until you get to High Street. At the corner of Hamilton and High there is a garbage man in a yellow jumpsuit carrying a garbage can. An alien is peeking out of the garbage can. The address of the building is 136 Hamilton. The mural is on the High Street side of the building.
The Ornidontist
Located down near 2741 Middlefield Road is the Ornidontist. Painted in 2005 / 2006, this mural is of a man in a white apron with a strange two pointed high crown on. He has birds flying around him. From the parking lot on Colorado Avenue, it is back and to the right, then on the wall to the left, which is the back wall of the building. The parking lot on Midtown Court, behind 2741 Middlefield Road also is a good spot to park to see the mural, and the mural is just off the parking lot on the left.
Other Murals
- 439 Emerson - facing the parking lot there is a mural of some aliens climbing some stairs up to a door being held open by a man
- 261 Hamilton - at one time there was a mural of a man in a window sawing some elevator cables. I think it was inside the office building foyer. The door was locked when I stopped by and I am not sure if the mural is still there.
- 499 Hamilton - I believe at some point there were three bucketheads inside the foyer of this building. The building was locked when I stopped by, but from looking in the windows, it appears that these three murals are possibly gone now.
- Stanford Shopping Center - supposedly near the Health Library, I'm told the mural is near Building G, the East corner near Blomingdales, but I have so far been unable to find it. It is suppose to be a polar bear with a crutch getting advice from a doctor.
- 1130 Forest Avenue - I believe there is a mural on the side of the garage of this private residence.
- 3398 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306 - there is a mural outside Cibo Restaurant
- Linköping, Sweden is one of Palo Alto's "Sister Cities". In 1991, Greg Brown was invited to draw a mural in the European city and he drew a man hanging out a window and holding a violin.
Several murals may have also been removed over time. For example, I've seen pictures of one with a woman walking a pelican on a leash. It is supposedly long gone now. If you know of any other Greg Brown murals that use to be or are still in existence or have pictures of any of the ones I'm missing, both past and present, please let me know!
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First Created: 2017-01-07
Last Edited: 2017-01-07
