Layers of Downtown: Olive Moya on the Story Behind the Denver Pavilions Mural

A 47,000-square-foot mural now wraps the Welton and Tremont walls of Denver Pavilions along 15th Street, one of the most visible signs of investment in Upper Downtown. Created by Denver artist Olive Moya and titled Always Never Different, Never Always the Same, the mural is a centerpiece of the Downtown Denver Development Authority's (DDDA) reinvestment in the property following its December 2025 acquisition.

The Downtown Denver Partnership had the opportunity to connect with Moya to discuss the design, the process, and what's next.

A lifelong pull toward public art

Murals became a large focus for Moya at Otis College of Art and Design. Her senior thesis took large painted canvases out of the studio and into public spaces.

"There's something really special about making public work and what it means to make something for people who don't often have access to art," she said.

Since moving to Denver from California almost 13 years ago, she's left her mark across downtown, from a mural at Republic Plaza to the walls of Huckleberry Roasters in Larimer Square, where she painted her very first Denver mural.

Designing for a place with many lives

To develop the design, Moya dug into the Denver Public Library's digital photo archives, tracing downtown's many chapters. She looked at the natural landscape and the Indigenous peoples who lived here first, and at I.M. Pei's work on the original 16th Street Mall in the late 1970s and early '80s.

"I was zeroed in on this idea that the place has been so many different things for so many different generations of people." she said.

Look closely at the mural and you'll find mountains, a nod to 16th Street, the Paramount Theatre's iconic sign, and stacked brickwork drawn from downtown architecture. It's all layered alongside forms Moya has been developing in her work for years.

"I'm more interested in the idea of having to look at something many, many times and find new things each time," she said regarding the easter eggs within the composition.

Six weeks, one team

Over six summer weeks, a painting team, many from Cincinnati's mural scene, brought the design to scale. Moya was on site several times a week, approving details, refining color, and joining nighttime projections.

"It was a beast," she said. "I'm really grateful for such an incredibly talented team."

What's next

"My 18-year-old self is like, 'Well, you did it,'" Moya shares.

Next up are large-scale sculptures, built in her garage, for a solo show at Understudy opening in October. "As a muralist, bigger was always the challenge," she said. "Going into sculpture, I have no idea what I'm doing, and figuring that out has been the ideal place to put my energy."

Follow Olive Moya on Instagram at @olivemoya to see more of her work, and stop by Denver Pavilions to marvel at the mural!