Date Visited: February 27, 2016

Cost: Free

Parking: Off street parking and parking lots are available throughout the area

Location: Dean Ave., Manchester, NH

Dean Avenue, also known as the hardest place to find in Manchester, is home to Cat Alley – an alley full of cats.

I must have asked a dozen people for directions to this alley way until one older gentleman chuckled and sent me in the right direction.  A lot of people got it confused with the “Alley Cat” (a popular pizza joint in the area).  Don’t go there as it is not even close to the “Cat Alley.” The hidden alleyway is easy to miss.  It is located between Lala’s Hungarian Pastry (mmmm) at 836 Elm St and Alpha Loft at 844 Elm St.  There is a sign on the shingle of Lala’s indicating Dean Ave.

There are cats everywhere in Cat Alley.

The name “Cat Alley” precedes the art on the walls.  According to legend, the name was derived from a business man witnessed two stray cats duking it out.  I sure wish he had broken it up.  At any rate, after noticing the alley way, which I might not recommend walking down too late at night, a business man decided to raise funds and hire street artists to give the alley the look it deserves.  Below is a slideshow of all of the art as well as a video of a walk through of the alley.

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Cat Alley isn’t the only place I found graffiti, much to the chagrin of many Manchester residents I am sure.  I found this mural on Manhattan Lane, a side street parallel to Elm St.  This mural is spot on, minus the recycling bins.  From left to right is the “Man In The Mountain” (which, as a child, I used to call the “Old Man In The Mountain”) – a rock formative created by wind, erosion and other weather factors on the side of a mountain and which collapsed on May 3, 2003.The state flower is represented as purple lilac.  The rest of the mural is also emblematic of New Hampshire; a purple finch (which does have a reddish look) and a covered bridge which is a staple of New Hampshire.

This is another piece of graffiti I found on Manhattan Lane.

I saw a lot of photo-worthy things during my visit.  I will be posting more from my trip soon.  Don’t forget to “like” me on Facebook here to see photos and videos I don’t post in my blog posts.  Thank you!