Pearl Street Mall, Museums and Arts
The Pearl Street Mall is four car-free blocks of downtown Boulder, from 11th Street to 15th, and it has been closed to cars since 1977. It is legally a city park, which is why it has its own rulebook: no bikes, no dogs, no selling, and acoustic music only.
Boulder Things To Do › Arts, museums & Pearl Street
Admission prices and mall rules verified against the city and each institution on July 25, 2026
Most Pearl Street guides describe the vibe. The useful things are more specific: which museums cost nothing, why the busker on the corner is playing unplugged, and why you cannot walk your dog down the middle of it.
The mall was designated the Downtown Boulder Mall on August 6, 1977, and it turns 50 in 2027, with a city maintenance and improvement project running through 2026 and 2027 ahead of that.
Boulder museums and galleries, with what they cost
| Place | What it is | Address | Admission | Where | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder Bookstore | Colorado's largest independent bookstore, three floors, since 1973 | 1107 Pearl St | Free to browse | On the mall | Visit › |
| CU Art Museum | University art museum in the Visual Arts Complex | 1085 18th St | Free | CU campus | Visit › |
| Dairy Arts Center | Galleries, cinema and theatre, since 1992 | 2590 Walnut St | Galleries free; performances and cinema ticketed | 26th and Walnut, east of downtown | Visit › |
| BMoCA | Contemporary art, over 50 years in Boulder | 1750 13th St | Pay what you want, $1 minimum on cards | Downtown, off the mall | Visit › |
| Museum of Boulder | Local history, plus the Playzeum and Google Garage family galleries | 2205 Broadway | $12 adults, $10 seniors, students and youth 5 to 17, under 5 free | Broadway at Pine, downtown | Visit › |
| Fiske Planetarium | The largest planetarium between Chicago and Los Angeles, 65-foot dome | 2414 Regent Dr | $12 adults, $8 seniors, students, military and youth 4 to 17, plus a $1.50 fee | CU campus | Visit › |
Admission is quoted from each institution's own visit page. Two closure warnings the institutions publish themselves and most guides miss: Fiske Planetarium closes during concerts at Folsom Field and CU home football games, and the CU Art Museum is typically closed on Saturdays with a daytime home football game. The CU Museum of Natural History is currently closed, with its own site saying it reopens in fall 2026, so it is not listed above.
The three genuinely free ones
If cost is the deciding factor, the CU Art Museum is free outright, with no ticket and no fee, and only asks that groups of ten or more book a tour two weeks ahead. The Dairy Arts Center's galleries are free and open daily from noon to 6 p.m., though its cinema and theatre are ticketed. And BMoCA runs an admission policy it calls Pay from Your Heart: in its own words, "whether it's one penny or one hundred dollars, you pick your admission fee," with a $1 minimum if you pay by card.
All three are indoors, which makes them the strongest entries in the rainy day and indoor guide as well.
How street performing on the mall actually works
Boulder's buskers are the mall's signature, and the rules behind them are more interesting than the guides let on.
- Acoustic needs no permit. The city allows vocal or instrumental acoustic performance on the mall with no permit at all.
- Amplification is banned without a separate amplified sound permit. That is why everything you hear is unplugged.
- The big acts need a special entertainment permit. Boulder Revised Code 4-11-4(e) covers juggling, knives, burning projectiles, and any equipment more than six feet off the ground. The city's own list adds stilts, fire, slacklines, unicycles, hula hoops and whips. The permit runs one calendar month and requires liability insurance naming the City of Boulder.
- Etiquette the city actually asks for: keep sets to 30 minutes, and move between blocks so you do not wear out the businesses on the floors above.
- You cannot sell anything. There is no permit for it. Selling merchandise, art or crafts is prohibited on the mall and on all city property, and so is soliciting donations for merchandise.
One thing worth correcting, because it circulates widely: the city does operate a system of 22 assigned spaces on the mall, but those are advocacy permits for nonprofits seeking donations or promoting a cause, and they are free. They are not busker pitches. There is no verified system of designated performer spots on Pearl Street.
And a genuine piece of Boulder municipal poetry, Boulder Revised Code 7-5-10(b): "No person shall drive a bicycle on the mall. This subsection does not apply to an entertainer who is performing an act on a unicycle."
The rest of the mall rulebook
Because it is legally a park, the mall carries restrictions a normal street does not. All of these are in the Boulder Revised Code:
- No dogs (6-1-17), with a service-animal defense. You can cross north to south at 11th, Broadway, 13th, 14th or 15th, but you cannot walk the length of it with an animal.
- No skateboards, skates or coasters (5-6-8).
- No bicycles (7-5-10(b)), unicycle performers excepted.
- No smoking anywhere in the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District, mall included (6-4-3.5).
Two practical things nobody publishes: public restrooms are just north of the Visitor Information Center at 13th and Pearl, with more at 9th and Canyon. And the poster kiosks along the mall are First Amendment space, so anything can go up; Parks staff clear every poster weekly regardless of content.
Free events on the bricks
Downtown Boulder Partnership runs three recurring free events on the mall, all staged on the 1300 block in front of the county courthouse.
Bands on the Bricks is an outdoor concert series on Wednesday evenings through early summer, described by the organizers as Boulder County's premier outdoor summer concert series. In 2026 it runs June 10 through July 29, 5:30 to 9 p.m., with the beer garden at 5:30, an opening band at 6, and the headliner from 7 to 9.
The Pearl Street Stampede is a CU pep rally the night before each home football game, running for nearly two decades. It starts at 7 p.m. in front of the courthouse, led by a vintage 1948 fire truck, and works its way west stopping on each block, with the Golden Buffalo Marching Band and CU's spirit squad.
Switch on the Holidays lights the mall, the Civic Area and the courthouse on a Sunday in late November, November 22 in 2026, with the switch thrown at 5 p.m. It opens a longer season Downtown Boulder calls Light Up the Holidays.
One more worth timing a trip around: the Pearl Street Arts Fest lands on the third weekend of July.
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Pearl Street and Boulder museums: frequently asked questions
How long is the Pearl Street Mall?
Four car-free blocks, from 11th Street to 15th Street. The City of Boulder designated it the Downtown Boulder Mall on August 6, 1977, banning cars on those blocks, and it is managed as a city park by Parks and Recreation rather than as a street. Pearl Street itself continues well past the mall in both directions, so plenty of well-known Pearl Street addresses sit outside the pedestrian section. Check the street number, not just the street name.
Do street performers on Pearl Street need a permit?
Not for acoustic performance. The City of Boulder allows vocal or instrumental acoustic performances on the mall with no permit at all. Amplified sound is not allowed, and using it requires a separate amplified sound permit. A special entertainment permit is required for stilts, fire, juggling, slacklines, unicycles, knives, hula hoops, whips, or any equipment taller than six feet, and that permit requires liability insurance naming the city. Downtown Boulder Partnership also asks performers to keep sets to 30 minutes and move between blocks so they do not wear out the businesses upstairs.
What museums in Boulder are free?
The CU Art Museum is free with no ticket needed, the Dairy Arts Center's galleries are free daily, and BMoCA runs a pay-what-you-want admission it calls Pay from Your Heart, with a $1 minimum if you use a card. The Museum of Boulder and Fiske Planetarium both charge. Note that the CU Museum of Natural History is closed and its own site says it reopens in fall 2026.
Can you sell things on the Pearl Street Mall?
No. There is no permit for it. Both the City of Boulder and Downtown Boulder Partnership state that selling merchandise, art, crafts or other goods is prohibited on the mall and on any other city-owned property, and so is soliciting donations for merchandise. This surprises a lot of visiting artists and vendors.
Are dogs allowed on the Pearl Street Mall?
No. Boulder Revised Code 6-1-17 prohibits animals on the mall, with a defense for service animals. You may cross the mall north to south at 11th, Broadway, 13th, 14th or 15th with an animal, but you cannot walk its length. Skateboards, skates and coasters are also prohibited, and so is smoking.
What free events happen on Pearl Street?
Bands on the Bricks is a free outdoor concert series on the 1300 block on Wednesday evenings, running June 10 through July 29 in 2026. The Pearl Street Stampede is a free CU pep rally the night before each home football game, starting at 7 p.m. on the 1300 block in front of the county courthouse, led by a vintage 1948 fire truck. Switch on the Holidays lights the mall and the courthouse on a Sunday in late November, November 22 in 2026. The Pearl Street Arts Fest runs the third weekend of July.
Keep exploring
The restaurants and coffee within a block or two of the mall are in the food and restaurants guide, the bars and live music once it gets dark are in the nightlife guide, and the full Boulder guide covers every other category.