Christmas-themed window display of Nightmare Before Christmas at XO Taco, illustrated by artist Ally Walker. Photo courtesy of Ally Walker.

If you’ve strolled through Downtown Syracuse, you’ve probably seen Ally Walker’s artwork. 

For years, she’s painted Instagram-able murals on the sides of local businesses. But this holiday season, she’s given downtown storefront windows a dash of holiday spirit.

The Grinch, Christmas-themed window display illustrated by Syracuse artist lly Walker. Photo courtesy of Ally Walker

Walker painted the Grinch, bent over with a pool cue striking a Christmas ornament, on the windows of Original Grain at the corner of Fayette and South Salina streets. His yellowed eyes glare back at onlookers. 

“Most people are just on their way wherever they’re going,” Walker said. “So if I made you look at least once or twice, I think I’ve done my job for sure.  I’ve kind of enticed you and maybe pulled you in and I think color has something to do with that.” 

This winter, Walker painted holiday-themed decorations on 15 storefronts in downtown Syracuse as part of the city’s Window Wonderland project. She’s one of the project’s most prolific artists and has spent more than two decades breathing life into the city’s windows, walls and walkways. 

Walker is known for her wall-encompassing murals, like the one at Mills Pond Landing on West Fayette Street, but she’s also a graphic designer and illustrator. Beautifying Syracuse is personal for Walker: She grew up in the Westhill Central School District, now lives in the Tipp Hill neighborhood and has spent much of the last two decades perfecting her craft to beautify the city. 

“Syracuse can be so gray in the winter. That’s the first thing you see when you come Downtown.
Walker said. “So we thought when all the trees are gone and it’s just white, all you see is color and that’s what you’re invited by.” 

Walker took up art early in her life. She remembers winning an art contest at K-Mart as a child. Walker painted her first commissioned mural when she was 16 years old and painted Westhill High School’s windows for its holiday dances. 

One of her first major projects included painting murals for Crouse and Golisano Children’s hospitals. She contributed 86 mural designs to Upstate University Hospital. 

At the Schiller Park Community Center, Walker designed interactive murals for the community. A mural with a tree inside a light bulb and hands reaching down on either side graces the side of the community center. The trunk of the tree covers an entrance into the community center. 

After the project ended, Walker donated 100 canvases and supplies for students to create their own art. 

“It’s kind of neat to see the kids walking in and out,” Walker said. 

Ally Walker (center) photographed painting a mural at Schiller Park in Syracuse, New York.

This winter her art took her to Salt City Market, one of the 15 businesses whose windows she dressed up this winter. She painted snowflakes, reindeers, and trees with white paint. The project took her two days — 17 hours one day and then 13 hours the next — to complete. 

On average, the other 14 paintings each took a day to complete. 

They included the Grinch at Original Grain, Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas at XO Taco, a muscular Santa Claus at Metro Fitness and a Toucan Santa at Kitty Hoynes. 

Walker said she made sure not to stylize the window paintings because each character had their own iconic image and out of a desire to keep the images “recognizable,” she said. 

Metro Fitness “fit Santa” window display illustrated by Ally Walker. Photo by Ally Walker.
Toucan Santa drawn on the window display of Kitty Hoynes in downtown Syracuse. Photo courtesy of Ally Walker.

“For the most part, all the feedback I’m getting through my direct messages and social media is just the community telling me how cool it is to walk down Salina St. and see all these different windows and storefronts that are participating,” Walker said. 

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Yolanda Stewart was raised in the Bronx, New York City. Before choosing a career path in journalism she found a voice in writing plays, short stories, and a myriad of other creative outlets. She is a 2022...