The Tucson Murals Project: Layers of murals: histories of a few walls

Some walls in Tucson have had many different murals over the years.

This blog page lists a few of these walls. As time goes on, we'll add more walls. Here are the walls we've listed now:

Rialto Theatre, southwest corner

Rialto Theatre, southeast corner

Rialto Theatre, northeast corner

1240 North Stone (Und1sputed Fitness & Training Center)

East side of 197 East Toole (at 6th Avenue)
Northwest side of 191 East Toole (opposite end of same building as 197)
Southwest side of 191-197 East Toole (along Toole)
Northeast side of 191-197 East Toole (next to railroad tracks)
Northwest of 191 East Toole (along edge of parking lot, along Toole, northwest of building at 191)
A walk around the whole building at 191-197 E. Toole is in our January 2023 post All around a mural maze.

To see photo histories of the walls, click on one of the links above or just scroll down. (And, by the way, if you have a photo of a mural that we don't have here, please let us know! We want to show all of the murals that Tucson has had, now and before.)

Rialto Theatre, southwest corner

This big building covers maybe a quarter of a city block. The building's address is 318 E. Congress, but the southwest corner is closer to the intersection of 5th Avenue and Broadway Boulevard. It's had only two murals since 2016. First, a Google Maps Street View that shows how desolate this part of downtown used to be.

January 2008: Google Street View, looking east near 30 S. 5th Avenue (opens in a new window or tab)
June 27, 2016: (Downtown) Murals being made, part 35: Ignacio Garcia
February 9, 2024: Guitarist tops the Rialto

^^^ Jump back to list of all walls ^^^

Rialto Theatre, southeast corner

The east side of this big building runs along an alley that's an extension of Herbert Avenue at the south. The building's address is actually 318 E. Congress. Murals currently stretch from the southeast corner onto a bit of the south wall — and about halfway along the east wall toward the northeast corner.

December 25, 2008: Rialto Theatre backstage door (June 26, 2024 post shows much more detail)
June 09, 2023: Love Block Partners (also has previous mural from February, 2010)
June 24, 2024: Rialto Theatre new & old, part 1 of 2
June 26, 2024: Rialto Theatre new & old, part 2 of 2

^^^ Jump back to list of all walls ^^^

Rialto Theatre, northeast corner

The northeast corner of this theatre (the theatre's address is 318 E. Congress) has often had new murals every few weeks since at least 2009. Most murals advertised upcoming shows. For years, Tucson muralist Joe Pagac painted here; since at least 2019, Jessica Gonzales has taken over the show murals. There've been so many show murals here that we stopped photographing them for several years. The list below will give you a good idea, though.

December 13, 2009: Rialto's short-time mural?
February 20, 2010: What's on (at) the Rialto
March 10, 2010: The latest Rialto mural...
March 27, 2010: Joe Pagac is back...
May 14, 2010: Next at the Rialto...
May 14, 2010: Canceled mural
July 12, 2010: J.P. again
March 04, 2012: Joe Pagac has (or had) company
March 22, 2012: Just Joe
May 20, 2012: Still quiet at the Rialto
October 9, 2012: Dino joined Joe in July
December 26, 2012: Rialto in progress (Murals being made, part 10)
March 7, 2013: Murals being made, part 17
January 1, 2014: New on Toole in 2013 (and Happy 2014!)
March 17, 2014: Rialto revisited
December 17, 2014: Time-lapse video of muralist Joe Pagac
December 21, 2014: Joe just now
February 5, 2015: Joe in January
March 5, 2015: Murals being made, part 27: Repainting the Rialto
May 4, 2015: Signs morph into a banana
October 20, 2015: Joe Pagac paints the Rialto
May 5, 2016: Prince tributes from Tucson artists (and stencil-ists)
June 11, 2019: (Not) Mural Lovers, part 5: Howsabout movin' that junk?
July 16, 2019: A history of Joe Pagac's little man on the Rialto
August 6, 2019: Quick Rialto mural tour
December 9, 2022: Jessica Gonzales paints (& paints...) the Rialto
June 30, 2023: A few of Jessica Gonzales' many Rialto murals

^^^ Jump back to list of all walls ^^^

1240 North Stone

This empty lot just south of Und1sputed Fitness & Training Center has had ever-changing graffiti / urban art since at least 2010. For years, Tucson muralist Cyfi (Rock Martinez) organized the nationwide WintaFresh weekend here; that ended around 2016 after Cyfi moved to Minneapolis. The walls were also repainted at other times.

July 19, 2006: Ahhh-nold!
November 30, 2009: Arnold has company
January 10, 2010: Undisputed urban art
July 6, 2011: Winter Fresh in July (?!)
January 25, 2013: Winta Fresh 2013 is Saturday February 2!
February 12, 2013: What Winta Fresh 2013 painted over…
February 16, 2013: Murals being made, part 14: WintaFresh 2013
January 7, 2014: WintaFresh 2013 revisited
January 14, 2014: WintaFresh 2013 revisited again
June 5, 2014: More from Mark Fleming
May 26, 2016: So long, WintaFresh
September 21, 2016: Und1sputed Fitness, December 2013

^^^ Jump back to list of all walls ^^^

191-197 East Toole

This building at 191-197 East Toole Avenue downtown is weirdly-shaped…

… with five sides at odd angles, wedged between the north-south 6th Avenue and the northwest-southeast Toole Avenue. There's a line cross the northwest third of the building that, I think is between the 191 and 197 sides: 191 to the left (near the parking lot) and 197 to the right (near 6th Avenue).