Speedway Corridor Mural Project

The boulevard that was once deemed “the ugliest street in America” by LIFE magazine in 1970 now has six new murals. They're on the walls that protect pedestrians from falling onto the Speedway underpasses near the University of Arizona. They were finished by the end of March, 2024. Allison Miller of Alley Cat murals had the idea for years, but it took lots of preparation and fundraising. (For example: It turned out that the walls themselves are owned by the City of Tucson, but the “wings” extending back from the ends of the walls are owned by the UA!) Here's a map, with thanks to Melissa Goodrich at the UArizona Poetry Center. Click to enlarge:

In coordination with the UA's Poetry Center, the murals are all based on poems — one a hip-hop song. There's lots more information at the end of the post, but let's see the murals! As always, you can click on a mural for a slideshow of larger views.

Each artist's section below finishes with a personal interview from the UA Poetry Center's blog. At the end of this post are links to more information.

Allison Miller (Southeast)

Allison Miller (including photos of her previous stingray mural): We marked up walls: Interviewing the Speedway Muralists (April 8, 2024). Stingray mural info, and a closeup photo, from this blog: Stingray on Speedway (August 04, 2016).

Monique Laraway (Northeast)

Monique Laraway: Bring Art to the Masses: Interviewing the Speedway Muralists (April 1, 2024)

Alex Fass (South central)

Alex Fass: it's raw, it's real, it's what I feel: Interviewing the Speedway Muralists (May 13, 2024)

Sasha Lewis (North central)

Sasha Lewis: Bright blocks of colors and bold lines: Interviewing the Speedway Muralists (April 15, 2024)

Jodie Lewers Chertudi (Northwest)

Jodie Lewers Chertudi: A world without art is so boring: Interviewing the Speedway Muralists (April 29, 2024)

Jodie's painting partner was Miguel Flores.

Jenna Tomasello (Southwest)

The people are cold. The people are hungry.
The rich have stolen the land.
The rich have stolen freedom.
The people scream.

Jenna Tomasello: Art Without an Access Barrier: Interviewing the Speedway Muralists (May 6, 2024)

More about the project

The project has gotten lots of attention, including:

• Arizona Illustrated TV program from AZPM: Beautifying the Ugliest Street in America - Tucson’s murals on Speedway Corridor
• Map and links to the poems, from UA Poetry Center: Speedway Corridor Mural Walking/Rolling Tour and Ice Cream Social!
• Locations, poems, and the Poetry Center: Press release, January 2024
• Speedway Corridor Murals on BG Boyd's TucsonAZMurals.com
• BG Boyd's video: "Reckon" Jodie Lewers Chertudi Mural based on Logan Phillip's Poem (YouTube)

The “Location” address below is close to the North central mural by Sasha Lewis, which is where Highland Avenue crosses under Speedway. (As always, you can click there for a Google Map.) This mural is close to the UA Poetry Center, which helped coordinate the project; its address is 1508 E. Helen Street.

Had a crash? Get a mural!

When I spotted people painting a mural at Dan's Toy Shop on the southeast corner of Ft. Lowell & Tucson, I couldn't stop… so I made a note to come back. I remembered the business name and that the mural was of a vehicle. What did that have to do with toys?

When I went back to take a closer look (above), I found out. Dan's Toy Shop repairs Toyota… and Lexus and Scion. Here's the overview:

In the background was a corner of the west side of Seven Cups Chinese Teas. I'd already taken photos of the new mural on the other (east) side of Seven Cups. Thanks to Jodie Chertudi, who painted that mural, I found out that Dan's mural is temporary: They painted it because someone crashed into the window at the front of their shop. Once the window is back, the mural will be gone. So there it is!

(Next week, I'll have photos of both sides of Seven Cups.)

Update (May 20, 2023): Jodie later pointed me to a Facebook Reel showing herself and Miguel Flores (@t_bones_in_az on Instagram) painting the mural: https://www.facebook.com/reel/949002449571732. The caption over the reel says “A vehicle crashed through the front door of Dan's Toy Shop back in December and we were asked to add some color to the temporarily boarded up plywood. Thank you to @danstoyshop1957 [on Instagram] for letting us experiment and try out some different techniques with this one.”