Philadelphia on a Half-Tank

Artist: Paul Santoleri

Location: Penrose Avenue and Platt Bridge

photo by Jack Ramsdale

Painted on the side of an oil tank at the refinery, this mural is one of the first images of the city one sees when traveling into Center City from Philadelphia International Airport.  Paul Santoleri chose this image to represent “the busyness and liveliness of the city, with a bit of exaggeration in the architecture.”  The title of the mural spoofs the popular nickname for Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, which is “Venus on a Half Shell.”