Skrappys, October 2010

This photo shows the front of Skrappys (a.k.a. the Tucson Youth Cooperative), 191 East Toole, last October.

This building is covered with murals! One of the most spectacular is on the northwest side; it's in our May 25, 2009 post. To find more, check the table of murals for Toole Avenue downtown.

BJ's N&S

As you've noticed, we've got a backlog of mural photos. I was about to post this photo, from last August, of the mural on the front (North) side of BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, 5510 East Broadway:

But something told me to check the other side of the building. Today, driving home from an Easter party, I found another handsome mural on the back (South):

(I checked the east and west sides, too. :)

Blooming with murals

As you've seen here on the Tucson Murals Project, some Tucson businesses brighten their streets for customers and passersby. (If you love murals, please stop by and thank them by being a customer.) At the end of 2010, for instance, we covered the murals that cover Mariscos Chihuahua restaurants.

Another company that gives Tucson a lot of color (and not just with their murals!) is Roses & More. Mid-2009, we showed a sunny scene on the store at Broadway & Tucson. Here are the spectacular murals on their location at 5501 East Speedway (at Craycroft) last August 18th:

There'll be more Roses & More. Stay tuned.

Update (May 7, 2019): For more color, see today's entry More Roses & More photos from Chris Andrews

Update (March 4, 2021): The store is being torn down.

Cool spot on Speedway

It was a hot mid-August day when I spotted these two cool scenes at JJ's Smoke Shop, 5846 E. Speedway:

The murals are signed TEST1, myspace.com/bigtestone.

Back to Bambi's

Randy's September 2006 post Beer & A Deer was the 15th on The Tucson Murals Project. He posted photos of the east wall and the sign out front of The Bambi Cocktail Lounge, 5050 E. Speedway.

Four years later, in August 2010, I rode past again. This time I shot the mural on the west wall. (Like the one on the east side, it has a waterfall). Here's the view:

(This is our 320th post, and we've got more than 100 new photos ready to show you. Thanks for "staying tuned!")

Murals being made, part 4

On January 6th, after driving under the railroad crossing over Stone Avenue, just north of downtown, I turned right on 6th and saw an artist painting a mural a block east:

I pulled over, of course. :) The muralist was Andy Steinbrink, and he was creating a new mural on the wall outside of The HangArt Space (512 N. Echols Avenue). I'd never heard of that venue, but I found more on their home page.

A few weeks later, Andy sent me a link to photos of some of his murals. Please check out his page... and click on the image next to the title "Murals" to see more of his work.

Here's the HangArt mural six weeks later, on February 20:

Murals being made, part 3

When I rode by at the end of March, the storage container above was sitting behind the fence along Tucson Boulevard, near the corner of 15th Street, on the field at the north side of Howenstine High Magnet School.

What do you think is planned for the blank spots at the left side? Here's a close-up of the middle of that area. (It's easier to see the outline if you click on the photo for a bigger view. Use your browser's "Back" button to come back here.)

Murals being made, part 2

Tucson muralist David Tineo has been struggling with macular degeneration, which led him to decide to stop painting murals. (You can read more in our May 2, 2008 post El Rio by Tineo.) So I was surprised when an artist I know, K. Loren Dawn, told me that she was contributing to a neighborhood mural project led by David Tineo! She wrote:

Several panels will be linked together to create the final mural. It will be installed sometime in May along Mountain Ave. with a dedication event. The theme is "Changing Hearts and Minds". It was done in conjunction with CODAC and the Hedrick Acres neighborhood.

She sent these photos. The first is of David and other artists working, and the second shows one of the panels:

Thanks, Loren!

UPDATE (July 9, 2011): The frame for the mural is being installed. (No mural yet.)