Graffiti News

The Virginia Beach City Council has approved a mural for the Sandbridge water tower, The Virginian-Pilot reported on 24 August 2026, following a vote at the council's Tuesday meeting. It will be the first water tower in Virginia Beach, Virginia to carry a mural.

The tower is 120 feet tall with a spherical top and stands beside Sandbridge Road, the main route into the Sandbridge neighbourhood in the south of the city. The painted surface will begin more than 100 feet above the ground.

Who is paying for the mural

The mural is funded with 75,000 dollars from the Sandbridge special service district fund rather than from the city's general budget. The Virginian-Pilot reported that this fund is financed through taxes collected within Sandbridge itself. Sandbridge is a special service district where additional real estate and short-term lodging taxes pay for sand replenishment and maintenance work at Sandbridge Beach, and it holds the largest concentration of short-term vacation rental homes in Virginia Beach. The city said upcoming beach replenishments remain fully funded.

That detail matters more than it looks. Objections to public mural budgets usually start with the same question: why should a whole city pay to decorate one neighbourhood. In Sandbridge the neighbourhood is buying its own landmark out of taxes it already levies on itself, which retires the argument before it begins. Any coastal or tourism district with a similar fund can copy the mechanism.

The request came from residents, not from city hall

The Sandbridge Civic League asked for the mural earlier in 2026, after the city repainted the water tower white. The tower had last been painted about 25 years earlier, and the city said the fresh coat means less preparation work before a mural can go on.

Sandbridge Civic League President Elaine Fekete wrote to the City Council: "With these transportation improvements now in place, this is an excellent opportunity to complement that progress with a distinctive visual landmark that reflects the natural beauty and coastal heritage of the area." The improvements Fekete referred to are recent works at the easternmost end of Sandbridge Road, including wider lanes and a new multi-use path.

No design has been chosen yet

A city spokesperson said no specific design for the mural has been decided. Several city departments, including Public Utilities and Cultural Affairs, will coordinate the project, and the start date is still to be determined.

This is the stage that decides what the mural actually becomes. The money is approved and the surface is prepared, but the image is still an open question. Whether a city runs an open call to artists, puts options to a residents' vote, or lets a committee choose in private usually shapes the finished work more than the budget does.

A water tower is a difficult surface to paint

A water tower is not a wall. Its surface curves in two directions, so a design has to be painted distorted in order to read correctly from the ground. The viewing distance is long, and most people will see this mural from a moving car on Sandbridge Road rather than on foot. Water tower murals therefore tend toward large shapes and strong colour contrast instead of fine detail.

Height changes the job as well. Painting more than 100 feet up requires rope access or lifts, and the schedule depends on wind and weather. That is part of why water tower murals are rare, and why the city is accurate in calling this one a first.

Why this is worth watching from anywhere else

Water towers, sound barriers, bridge piers, pump stations and substation walls are the largest blank surfaces most towns own, and nearly all of them are unpainted. Sandbridge shows a short path to changing that: a residents' association asked, a routine maintenance repaint created the opportunity, and an existing local fund covered the cost. No new arts programme was needed.

To see what has already been painted near you, the Wallscape map shows nearby work, and you can add photographs of murals you find to the feed.

Reported by Stacy Parker for The Virginian-Pilot, 24 August 2026.