In Royal Square, the downtown block bounded by King, Queen, Princess and Duke Streets. More than thirty large murals sit within roughly a one-block radius around the Royal Square Mural Park, it is outdoors and free, and because it is all on public streets it is open whenever you turn up.

The thing the photos make obvious is that this is not a gallery with some art on the outside. The parking lot is the middle of the exhibit - you drive into it, and the walls facing you on every side are painted.

How many murals are there, and who painted them?

More than thirty, in a very small area. They came out of a collaboration between Sprocket Mural Works and independent artists working with the Royal Square District, added in waves rather than all at once - one summer alone brought seventeen new ones. The lot itself was rebuilt as part of the project, with a marked walking path through it, which is why it reads as a park rather than as parking with decoration.

When should you go, and are there tours?

Any time, but First Friday is the one to aim for. Sprocket Mural Works has run guided tours of the mural park on First Friday evenings from May through October, which is the easy way to find out who painted what and why. Check their events page for this year's dates before you go. Outside of that, it is self-guided and you can walk the whole thing in half an hour.

Where do you park?

In the middle of it. You can park in the mural park lot itself. Check the signs there for what it costs and when. York's street meters are enforced on weekdays from 8am to 5pm, and retail-district meters on Saturdays from 9am to 3pm.

What is the neighbourhood actually like to live in?

Dense, walkable and old. Royal Square is rowhome territory on a tight street grid, a few blocks south of Continental Square, and that last photo shows how close it sits to the courthouse dome and the rest of downtown. Central Market is a walk away, not a drive. Housing here is mostly two and three storey brick rowhomes, many of them nineteenth century, and the condition varies enormously from one block to the next - which is exactly why you want to look at specific houses rather than at an average.

That variation cuts both ways. It is one of the few parts of York County where the entry price is genuinely low, and it is also the part where what you are buying depends most on what has been done to the building.

If you are curious what living within walking distance of this looks like on paper, I can pull what is for sale in those blocks and tell you honestly which ones are worth a look. Call or text me at 717-356-9413.