Fantastic Field of "Prettiest Painted Places" Participants: First 50 Entries

Photo credit: Mike Feiler

Every day, we’re receiving new entries for this year’s competition to find the Prettiest Painted Places in America, but it’s already safe to say that the 2012 field of nominees is the strongest ever. Our judges are literally cringing at the thought of eliminating any of the beautiful communities taking part in this year’s competition.

As expected, the majority of entries focus exclusively on colorful homes and buildings (many of these are absolutely stunning), but a few are notable for the other places exterior paint is being used to add visual interest to the community:

Outdoor mural programs seem to be growing in popularity, and the artwork is more accomplished than ever. Some communities have elevated overpasses with painted designs; others have applied paint underfoot on streets and sidewalks. A few places are thinking far “outside of the box”, embellishing park benches, giant folk art, and even water towers with eye-catching color and painted designs.

Without further ado, click here to see the first 50 “places” that have entered our competition, including a sneak peek at a couple of the submissions. In the next few days, we’ll reveal the second 50 entries, and in the near future, we’ll post selected images from the majority of the nominees, so that everyone can appreciate the beauty of these places. . . and the difficult task ahead for our judges!

First 50 PPP-2012 Entries

Annapolis, MD
Ashland, WI
Aurora, IL

Baton Rouge (Spanish Town), LA
Bellows Falls, VT
Berkeley Springs, WV
Broken Bow, OK

Cannon Beach, OR
Charlottesville, VA
Chautauqua Institution, NY
Cuba, MO

Durango, CO

Edenton, NC

Fargo-Moorhead, ND
Ferndale (Victorian Village), CA
Frankenmuth, MI

Glenwood Springs, CO
Guntersville, AL
Gulf Shores, AL

Harrodsburg, KY
Holly Springs, MS

Jonesboro, TN

Kanab, UT
Kennebunkport, ME
Kingsburg, CA

Lake City, CO
Lindsborg, KS

Madisonville, KY
Muskego, WI

Nebraska City, NE
Newcastle, WY
North Conway, NH

Oklahoma City (Paseo Arts District), OK
Orange Beach, AL
Orange City, IA
Owego (Historic District), NY

(Historic) Park City, UT
Princeton, NJ

Raleigh (Historic Oakland), NC

Sandpoint, ID
Saratoga, FL
Sedan, KS
Selma, AL
Sheridan, WY
Smithfield (Historic Downtown), VA
St. Louis (Lafayette Square), MO

Tehachapi (Historic Downtown), CA
Traverse City, MI

Wallace, ID
Winchester (Frederick County), VA