Just a little off the top...Oops! I've got a helmet on.....

Is there a title for World's Smallest Barbershop? I'm not sure. However, the Tucson barbershop bearing these murals is about the size of your average SUV.

Nonetheless, you will find said barbershop and military murals at 5321 E. Speedway. Here are the directions from Interstate 10. Keep in mind, you can't take a photo of it without bothering the business adjacent to the murals. It's a place that sells vehicles. If they ask what you're doing, simply tell them you're looking for something about the size of the barbershop, but with better hair mileage.

Update (October 17, 2014): A page on waymarking.com titled Iwo Jima says the muralist was Paul Lira.

Update (July 3, 2024): Google Maps Street View shows the barber shop open during April, 2011. By July, 2013, the business was boarded up:



By July, 2018, there was just an empty concrete pad. It's still that way today.

Windows & A Gateway

There are a series of murals on Broadway Boulevard at Barraza-Aviation Parkway in downtown Tucson. Here are directions to the murals from Interstate 10.

Created by Stephen Farley, they're titled,

"Windows to the Past, Gateway to the Future."

Now this can be a VERY busy intersection so save your rubbernecking for the red light. Your car should not become part of the artwork, if you know what I mean.

By the way, Stephanie from Tucson wrote the following e-mail about this mural.

"The artwork that's titled 'Windows and a Gateway' should have the men that made the artwork right along with the artist, because the tilework is indeed art of its own. Tile Canvases hand glazed each piece of tile that you see downtown on that mural. And they continue to repair them on a regular basis whenever they get damaged. So, hats off also to Rick Young and Tom Galloway from Tile Canvases on a great piece of art!"

Update (April 1, 2007): The page Windows to The Past, Gateway to The Future has a link that shows photos of the 14 main panels.

Update (May 12, 2012): An Arizona Daily Star article, Life stories: Tucsonan immortalized on mural, tells the story of Gail Fafard and the panel showing her with two friends in the mid-1940s.

Update (June 27, 2022): KGUN9 TV broadcast a video interview 3:49 long with artist Steve Farley. The online version includes more information and photos.

How to Ruin a Mural

As more and more pictures are added to this blog, you'll occasionally ask yourself, "Why did Randy include this ugly mural?" I'm not a trained artist, so it isn't my position to critique the art. However, you will find me complaining about one thing: positioning of the mural. This mural, on a well-traveled corner of Speedway and Stone, is next to an abandoned, neglected, vacant lot. The mural attracts the eyes of passersby, but, HELLO, CITY OF TUCSON, do you want their eyes to also see this lot. Maybe it isn't the city's responsibility. Maybe it's the owner's. WHO CARES? We have Adopt-a-Highway programs, maybe we should start an Adopt-a-Lot program as well.

(Update from Jerry: As of February, 2010, there's a different mural but the lot is still ugly.)

Update (January 29, 2019) from Jerry: I cropped the photo above to the mural area and brightened it. As always, you can click for a larger view:

Downtown Culture

Teatro Carmen

380 S. Meyer Avenue in downtown Tucson.

Artist: Martín Moreno Title: Untitled

Update by Jerry (July 3, 2024): This mural is actually just south of the main Teatro Carmen building (which has an arch over the entrance). The address on the door in the middle of this mural is 384 (South Meyer Avenue).

Here's a photo from Google Maps Street View in April, 2022:



Update by Jerry (July 13, 2024): A comment from Claire says: “I noticed on February 13, 2024, that this mural is now painted over.” I walked by today; the mural is gone. But there's a new mural by Danny Martin at the arched main entrance to the theatre, just north.

Jonesin' For Art on Speedway

On the Corner of

Speedway & Jones

There's more than just the colors that make this mural stand out on the corner of Speedway & Jones. It's also the part of the flower and the hummingbird's wing that, well, uh, stand out.

As beautiful as it is, this mural is unsigned. If anyone knows the painter, please pass it on to me.

Update by Jerry Peek: An anonymous commenter wrote that “the muralist is Josh Sarantitis, of Hozhographos Studios, who also did the mosaic tile mural in Oury/David Herrera Park.”