Tour Tuesdays: Mural Tour of Brookline

I'd like to start a segment where I give you tours of awesome cultural stuff in interesting places every Tuesday starting today because ... well it's Tuesday and "Tours" and "Tuesdays" sounds nice together. 

What many of you don't know about me is that I used to live in Brookline. I've only been a Southie girl for a measly 6 months now. I lived in kosher eating, Shabbat celebrating, bagel making Brookline for two years. As I revisited my old stomping grounds on Saturday, I was struck by how many murals donned the walls. After passing mural after mural after mural, I did what any normal blogger would do.... gave my coffee and bagel to my girlfriend and ran around deliriously taking pictures of each wall with my Iphone 4s.

Mural #1:

This mural is my favorite, probably because it's a big mess of different ideas rolled up into one big mural. There are a lot of artists, musicians, and free spirits painted on this wall. They are all about to be doused with a gigantic wave and then burned by the scorching sun... but besides that this mural is pretty sweet looking. Everything about this piece make me want to go to Yoga and start playing the harp.

Mural #2: 

This mural was painted in 2007 to celebrate Zaftig's 10th anniversary. It depicts all of Brookline's favorite local spots: the booksmith, the toy store, the Coolidge corner theater, ... the cars parked sideways on the road (which is not something you can actually get away with in Brookline). My favorite part about this painting is the fat lady flying through the air with her fresh kugal cakes.  I'm also curious why it says that Zaftig's was establish in "5757". Isn't 5757 in fact 3,745 years in the future? If that is the case, then this is the future of Jewish deli food folks. Get it before the fat lady eats your kugal. 

Pic one: "Fat ladies can fly"

Pic two: Again with the "5757"

Mural #3: 

This mural was commissioned to show off the Brookline neighborhood that JFK grew up in. JFK is seen coming out of Devotion school with a bunch of children. There are so many different races and religions in this painting that it has a very "Sesame Street" feel. I also want to know what the revolutionary war hero is doing charging into a street full of children two centuries in the future. 

Pic 1: "1775 meets 1963"

My favorite part of this mural, of course, is the young awkward Jewish couple tying the knot. I also love the old man selling tomatoes (or apples) (OR red bouncy balls). 

Pic 2: "Shalom"

Mural #4: 

This mural is on the wall adjacent Kupel's Bagel place. First thing you should do before going to look at this mural is buy a bagel... but not on Saturday, because it's Shabbat. In Brookline, you have to know your Jewish holidays and traditions because it's taken seriously in Brookline. You cannot get your kugal/bagels/lox/challah/matzah ball soup on Saturdays.  

I digress; this mural depicts the inside of a butcher shop back in what I can only assume was the "Leave it to Beaver" 1950s. I love the Hebrew type face under the name of the the butchery and the clearly political message "Combined Jewish Appeal" on the far left corner. 

Secretly political butcher

I dedicate this blog to Kay who held my Starbucks and watched me run in the street for 45 minutes on Saturday morning. Toda, as they say in Hebrew (thank you).