Alligator mural by ROA, old Star Hotel building, Mitchell Street at Forsyth Street, downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Alligator
ROA · a giant alligator lying belly-up, painted for Living Walls in summer 2011 · east wall of the old Star Hotel building, 209 Mitchell Street at Forsyth Street, downtown Atlanta
Photo: John McNicholas, 20 August 2011, Flickr
In summer 2011 the Belgian artist ROA came to Atlanta for Living Walls, the city’s street-art conference. On the brick side of the old Star Hotel building at Mitchell and Forsyth streets an alligator lies on its back the length of the wall, claws up, in ROA’s black and white. A photo on Flickr shows it finished on 20 August 2011. Rough Draft Atlanta called it “famous” in 2014, and a downtown guide noted its peeling paint in 2021. The newest dated sighting we found is a visitor report from 21 May 2022; a blog post from February 2025 shows the wall in an undated photo.
5 things to know
- Painted for Living Walls 2011Southern Spaces: ROA “made this graffiti for a conference organized by Living Walls Atlanta in 2011.” Atlanta Magazine dates the project to “summer 2011”, and Living Walls’ own 2011 archive lists “Roa – Gent, Belgium”. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution captioned it in 2016 as “painted in 2011 for the Living Walls arts festival, by the Belgian artist ROA.” Southern Spaces · Atlanta Magazine · Living Walls · AJC
- Grinning, belly-up, three storeys tallAtlanta Magazine: ROA “installed his grinning, belly-up alligator” at the corner of Mitchell and Forsyth streets. Roadside America: “3-stories tall and belly up, on the brick exterior of the old Star Hotel.” Atlanta Magazine · Roadside America
- Under an old hotel signA blog post from July 2012 places it “at the corner of mitchell & forsyth on the side of the old star hotel”; the faded sign “Star Hotel Rates 50-75” is still painted above the tail (photo at the top of this page). Wikipedia’s list of the Hotel Row buildings gives 201–209 Mitchell Street as Concordia Hall, built in 1892, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s 2016 profile of Concordia Hall notes “the alligator mural on its side”. Tell Me All About Your Day · Wikipedia: Hotel Row · AJC
- Photographed within weeksJohn McNicholas photographed the finished wall on 20 August 2011 and tagged the picture “roa” and “livingwalls”. It is the photo at the top of this page, which Street Art Utopia also used. Flickr
- Famous, then peelingRough Draft Atlanta captioned it “ROA’s famous alligator on Mitchell Street in Downtown” in 2014. A downtown street-art guide wrote in July 2021 that it “has clearly been there a while, as evidenced by the peeling paint.” Rough Draft Atlanta · Bitelines Atlanta Food Tours
Check-in guide
- 📍
- On the east side of the building at 209 Mitchell Street, facing Forsyth Street, at the Mitchell–Forsyth corner in downtown Atlanta (Southern Spaces, Atlanta Magazine).
- 🚗
- A 2022 visitor tip: “A lot of road construction, but if you go at the right time it shouldn’t be hard to find a spot to park.” (Roadside America)
- 🧭
- The Maps button searches for 209 Mitchell St SW, Atlanta.
Sightings
- 201120 Aug
Flickr photo, John McNicholas
- 20121 May
Southern Spaces photo
- 2012Jul
Blog photos
- 201427 Jun
Rough Draft Atlanta
- 20167 Mar
AJC photo caption
- 202130 Jul
Peeling paint noted
- 202221 May
Visitor tip, Roadside America
- 20256 Feb
Blog post, undated photo
Every stamp links to the dated source. The green stamp is a dated photo of the wall: John McNicholas’s Flickr picture, taken on 20 August 2011. Amber stamps are dated reports: Southern Spaces (1 May 2012), a blog post from July 2012, Rough Draft Atlanta (27 June 2014), the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s profile of Concordia Hall with a photo of the building and a caption about the alligator (7 March 2016), a downtown street-art guide that noted peeling paint (30 July 2021), a Roadside America visitor tip about parking (21 May 2022), the newest dated sighting and the basis of the stamp at the top, and a blog post of 6 February 2025 with a photo of the alligator and its fire escape. That photo is not dated and shows trees in full summer leaf, so it is not evidence for February 2025. We found no report of the wall being painted over.
On the record
ROA’s graffiti at 209 Mitchell Street, Atlanta, Georgia, 2012
“on the east side of the building, facing Forsyth street, at the corner of Mitchell street in downtown Atlanta.”
A featured image with caption by Brandon P. Wicks, Georgia Perimeter College, in the Emory journal of the American South.
Wall to Wall: Living Walls brings art to public spaces
“ROA’s famous alligator on Mitchell Street in Downtown.”
A photo caption in Collin Kelley’s article on Living Walls.
Find the Coolest Street Art in Downtown Atlanta
“has clearly been there a while, as evidenced by the peeling paint.”
A walking-tour guide to downtown murals; its caption reads “By artist ROA on Forsyth St.”
The facts
- Artist
- ROA, from Ghent, Belgium (Southern Spaces, Atlanta Magazine, Living Walls, Roadside America, AJC) Checked
- Name
- No official title found. Roadside America lists it as “Dead Alligator Mural” (Roadside America) Reported
- Shows
- An alligator lying on its back, claws in the air, in black and white (Atlanta Magazine, Roadside America) Checked
- Painted
- Summer 2011, for the Living Walls conference (Southern Spaces, Atlanta Magazine, Living Walls, AJC) Checked. Finished by 20 August 2011, the date of the earliest dated photo we found (Flickr) Checked
- Place
- East side of the building at 209 Mitchell Street, facing Forsyth Street, at the Mitchell–Forsyth corner, downtown Atlanta (Southern Spaces, Atlanta Magazine, Roadside America) Checked. A 2012 blog post gives 201 Mitchell Street SW (Tell Me All About Your Day), and so does the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for Concordia Hall, the building with the mural on its side (AJC) Conflicting; Southern Spaces and Roadside America both give 209, which we follow. Wikipedia gives the building as 201–209 Mitchell Street (Wikipedia).
- Building
- The old Star Hotel (Tell Me All About Your Day, Roadside America) Checked. Concordia Hall, built in 1892 (Wikipedia, AJC) Checked. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says it was named for the Concordia Association, a group of prominent Jewish leaders that met there for years (AJC) Reported
- Size
- “3-stories tall”, according to Roadside America (Roadside America) Reported
- Our photo
- Taken by John McNicholas on 20 August 2011 and published on Flickr, all rights reserved (Flickr) Checked. Street Art Utopia credits it to him in 8 American Murals Worth the Detour (21 July 2026).
- Status
- Seen May 2022: the newest dated sighting is a Roadside America visitor tip of 21 May 2022 (Roadside America) Reported. A blog post published on 6 February 2025 shows the alligator and its fire escape in a photo that is not dated (Stephen Bodio) Reported. On 7 March 2016 the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a photo of the building with a caption about the alligator on its side (AJC) Reported. Peeling paint was noted in July 2021 (Bitelines) Reported. We found no report of the wall being painted over.
Related
- On Street Art Utopia: Only in America (14 Photos) (14 October 2026), and ROA – A Street Art Collection.
- Another ROA animal in the files: Opossum, Pilsen, Chicago (2012).
- The 2011 Living Walls line-up. Living Walls
All sources (11)
This work
- Southern Spaces: “ROA’s graffiti at 209 Mitchell Street, Atlanta, Georgia, 2012”, by Brandon P. Wicks, 1 May 2012. ROA from Ghent; Living Walls 2011; east side facing Forsyth Street at the corner of Mitchell Street.
- Atlanta Magazine: “Living Walls: The City Speaks”, undated guide. “grinning, belly-up alligator” at the corner of Mitchell and Forsyth streets; summer 2011.
- Living Walls: 2011, the organiser’s archive. Lists “Roa – Gent, Belgium” among the 2011 murals.
- Tell Me All About Your Day: “living walls: roa”, by Ryan, July 2012. “at the corner of mitchell & forsyth on the side of the old star hotel”; gives 201 Mitchell Street SW.
- Rough Draft Atlanta: “Wall to Wall: Living Walls brings art to public spaces”, by Collin Kelley, 27 June 2014. “ROA’s famous alligator on Mitchell Street in Downtown.”
- Bitelines Atlanta Food Tours: “Find the Coolest Street Art in Downtown Atlanta”, 30 July 2021. On Forsyth St; peeling paint; Living Walls 2011.
- Roadside America: “Atlanta, GA – Dead Alligator Mural”, tip by Steve Braun, 21 May 2022. 209 Mitchell St SW; 3 storeys; old Star Hotel; ROA, 2011.
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Actual Factual Georgia: Concordia Hall stands out on Hotel Row”, by Andy Johnston, 7 March 2016. Concordia Hall, 201 Mitchell Street SW, built in 1892; photo caption: “The alligator mural on its side was painted in 2011 for the Living Walls arts festival, by the Belgian artist ROA.” Photo by Pete Corson.
Dated photos
- Flickr: John McNicholas, taken 20 August 2011, tags roa, livingwalls, 2011.
- Stephen Bodio: “Public Art Gator”, 6 February 2025. Photo of the mural, not dated.
Context
- Wikipedia: Hotel Row. 201–209 Mitchell Street listed as Concordia Hall, built 1892 by Bruce & Morgan.
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