Just off Fourth Avenue...

...on the east side of Trinity Presbyterian Church (400 East University Boulevard) by the sanctuary entrance, is another mosaic mural that complements the two on the other side.

Update (November 16, 2012): There's also a mural on the north side.

Majestic mural (almost) restored

If you haven't seen the long mid-town mural of the Tucson Mountains, take a look two years ago. I heard from a friend this summer that the mural was destroyed by a tagger. With thoughts in mind (and heart) about how the artists must feel (the credit panel is at the right), I stopped by as soon as I could: September 22, 2011.

The news was better than I thought. It looks like the tags were mostly cleaned off. I didn't even notice them until I got close and stood at the right angle against the early-morning sun.


(By the way, this parking lot is now the University of Arizona's Lot #9007. Another reason to get there early — if you drive a car, at least — is that a permit is required from 7 AM - 5 PM weekdays. The mural will probably be blocked by cars during that time, anyway. Enter from Ft. Lowell just west of Mountain: turn south to enter the lot.)

Pancho Villa's Grill

When I stopped by on May 11th, some parts of this mural — on the east side of Pancho Villa's Grill, 401 E. 5th Street — needed repainting. I'm guessing that it was tagged and the tags had been covered with white paint. Whether that's the story here, or not, I've been saddened to see more and more tagged murals in the past year or so.

The work is signed SandOner.com.

Munchkins on Swan

This is one of the mural-covered windows at Munchkin's Preschool & Daycare, 920 N. Swan, on May 8th. It's signed: Autumn Mt. Arts, (520)245-4924.

Little Germany Foreign Car Repair

Here's the mural-lined front of the store on May 8, 2011:

Carmelin Castro Itom Usim Park

	From the east, you can enter the park at the northwest corner of 10th Avenue and 40th Street — just on the border between the cities of South Tucson and Tucson. Carmelin Castro Ítom Úsim Children's Park winds west from there to 12th Avenue. There are picnic benches and places to play. And, of course, there are murals!

Sunset Villa Neighborhood

I found this three-sided wall on May 1st at the northwest corner of S. 12th Avenue & Calle Juliet W., just south of Pueblo High School). Click on the photo to see more of the fun detail.

When I searched the Web for information, I found that there are actually four of these around the neighborhood. This one is titled “Historia.” I'll plan to go back and snap some photos for the blog — but you can click there now to see more — and see other works of these artists. The artist credits for this work are: Gail Roberts & Lori Ryder.

Update (October 1, 2012): We've posted photo of the other three.

Arizona Palms Tinting Company

Here's a photo from May 1st (at 7:28 AM! :) at 4010 S. 12th #1.


Update (May 18, 2018): The mural was repainted sometime before June 23, 2017. Today's article Arizona Palms updated has photos.

For Anthony Ramirez

Riding along Aviation Bikeway this past week, I noticed a new mural on the wall along the north side of Eastmoor Park, south of Keswick Circle and east of Bristol Avenue. It's a memorial to Anthony Ramirez, who lived from 08-13-1967 to 10-30-2011 — just a month ago.
Here's a map that shows the mural's location by using the photo's geotagged location; 32.20183,-110.93193.

Update (September 27, 2017): The mural been painted over in the red and blue colors of the Arizona Wildcats.

New on the Architecture Building

Thanks to Eric M Oliveri for letting me know that, a few days ago, "a new iron-cast type of mural was put up on the West face of the UA Architecture Building." It's on the south side of Speedway, at 1040 N. Olive. (As always, you can click on the photo for a larger view.)

Update (March 11, 2012): There's a photo of the related mural on the Art Museum, and more info about both of them, on our March 10th post.

Oasis Fruit Cones on 12th

This is the north wall of Oasis Fruit Cones, 4128 S. 12th Avenue (across 12th from the corner of West District Street). I was there on May 1st before opening time — which, I've read since then, was my mistake! Reviews on Yelp raved about their raspados (at the St. Marys Road location, anyway), and the photo on the Metromix page made me sure that this is a place I'll need to research more thoroughly. :)

Update (April 2, 2013): I just posted a photo of Oasis Fruit Cones on St. Marys.

Update (April 7, 2017): Johanna Martinez told me that she'll be part of a team who'll paint a new mural here soon. They'd already started scraping off the old mural. Here's a photo I took today:

Update (June 21, 2017): Today David Aber posted photos of the mural being remade: The Talking Mural (Murals being made, part 47a).

C.E. Rose Elementary

I found this mural outside Rose Elementary School on May 1st. The school's address from its website is 710 West Michigan Drive, but I snapped these photos from the entrance near the west end of the south side of campus. The second photo shows artist credits.

More food, anyone? :)

Once you're ready to do some more grocery shopping after Thanksgiving, why not support a store with a mural? This is Save More Market, 4601 S. 12th Avenue (on the southeast corner with Ohio Street).

Thanksgiving tale of three photographers

Early on Sunday morning, May 1st, I headed out with my camera on another long mural-hunting trip through a part of Tucson I hadn't visited before. As I rode by the intersection of South 11th Avenue and West Ohio Street, I saw the scene below — most in shade and some lit by early-morning sun.

The wraparound mural looked like a roll of film. "A photographer's studio," I thought — or maybe an old movie theater? There was no business sign, and it was much too early to hunt around on foot. So I snapped that rough photo, jotted down the address (which I thought was probably 4576 S. 11th Avenue), and made a note to check into it.

Fast-forward to yesterday, November 23. I searched Google Maps for that address, and it placed the location pin on the same northwest corner. It also said that the business there is Martinez Photography. When I tried calling the phone number in Google's listing (and in several other listings for Martinez Photography), it was... disconnected.

So I tried searching Google for Martinez Photography Tucson and found some gorgeous photos at PabloMartinezPhotography.com. "Found him!," I thought. But when I called, Pablo Martinez told me that the building wasn't his.

I'll plan to go back to that corner to find out more — and, I hope, to get a better photo of the mural. In the meantime, please enjoy Pablo's website... and have a happy Thanksgiving!

Flower Stop

This photo is of Flower Stop, on South 12th Avenue at the northeast corner of Nevada Street.

This was the first mural I found on an early-morning bike ride May 1st — which, just by coincidence, is also May Day. Wikipedia has a story of May Day in parts of the USA, where flowers are left in a "ring-and-run" on peoples' doorsteps. (The article also has lots of other May Day traditions around the world.)

Update (May 17, 2022): The front of the building has changed completely.

Garden District on Columbus Blvd.

This sunny mural stretches along the west side of Columbus Boulevard, north of the corner at Lester; the home's address is 4249 E. Lester Street.

I took the photo on April 30th, 2011.

Maybe a mural, part 25

Do intricate pre-cut tiles in a wall count as a "mural"? Whether they do or not, the artist put a lot of work into this tree outside the home at 1007 E. Alta Vista Street (just east of Park):

There are lots of examples like this on Tucson walls, and we probably won't show all of them here. But I thought this was an especially nice example. I snapped the picture on February 22nd, 2011.

Corner with charm

Three murals dress up the street corner on the wall around the home at 268 E. Delano (the corner with Fontana).

Here's the north side:

The southeast side:

Last, the east side:

I found them on February 22nd.

Bermuda Gardens Trailer Park

On February 22, I found this mural on the southwest corner of the wall around Bermuda Gardens Trailer Park, 826 West Prince (east of Fairview).

Miracle Manor Neighborhood

The Miracle Manor neighborhood mural is at 2520 N. 15th Avenue (north of Grant) on the north side of S&K Market. It's signed (c)2010 Michael B. Schwartz.

Here's a Tucson Citizen article (April 29, 2010) about the mural: Great Community Mural Project Completed in Miracle Manor Neighborhood.

Update (September 29, 2014): I just found a website about the mural: MiracleManorNeighborhoodMural.blogspot.com.

Thanks from the neighbors...

...at least, I'd guess that's what the owners of 813 W. Jacinto hear about this mural that dresses up their home.

The neighborhood is easy to find between Grant and Glenn east of I-10. I took the photo on February 22nd.

(More) Roses & More

Certain Tucson organizations really support murals (and muralists) — for instance, schools & pre-schools; body piercing and tattoo places — almost any business in the City of South Tucson — as well as chains like Mariscos Chihuahua and Roses & More.

Here are three photos of one of the Roses & More locations: 380 W. Grant (at the corner of Oracle).

The sign out front, at the southwest corner of their lot (the other side is typically as nice, though I didn't snap it):

The southwest corner of their building (I think the roof used to be part of the mural... does anyone remember what the image was... maybe the sky? By the way, I took these photos on February 22, 2011):

And a detail from the southeast corner:


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

Sky Smoke Shop shows style

I photographed these graffiti murals on the Sky Smoke Shop location at 247 W. Grant, just east of 11th Avenue, on February 22nd.

Here's the west wall:

Next, the south wall. It's dated Dec. 2010 and has a signature I couldn't read (if you can, or if you know who painted this, please leave a comment below or send me an email!)

The last photo shows the east wall:

5th & 6th

I spotted this mural (signed, I think, Royal Orphans 2011) on February 22nd at an address that's approximately 300 E. 6th Street. It was on south side of the building just east of 5th Avenue, on the cinderblock wall between the driveway to the garage door and the parking lot. Google Maps gives the coordinates 32.227446, -110.966946. (It might be easier to find the mural if you just go to the corner of 5th Avenue & 6th Street, then look around. There's a lot of graffiti art in the area, from showy to subtle. The contemporary art galleries just down 6th Street are well worth a visit too.)

Whatta wash!

Tucson's washes (arroyos, often lined with concrete) are a magnet for muralists — those who have permission (and even encouragement) from the neighborhood, as well as ones who do, well, "unofficial" painting. This wash, just southeast of Speedway & Alvernon, is of the first type. Here's the view from the southern end, along Second Street:

You're probably wondering how to find this extended mural? First, you need to be on Montezuma Avenue — or drive along 2nd Street, east of Alvernon, until you reach Montezuma. Here's a Google Map satellite view of the intersection of 2nd & Montezuma. If you follow the direction of Montezuma, from south to north, as it crosses 2nd, you'll see the wash extending north toward 1st. That's the block with this fun series of murals.

On the left of the first photo (above), a drainage pipe enters the wash. Or is it the entrance to a mine or a cave?

A bit farther north is a fish with a tongue that circles Earth:

And here's the view from the north end — at 1st Avenue — looking south:

By the door at J. B. Wright

This mural is painted by the southwest entrance (off Columbus Blvd.) at John B Wright Elementary, 4341 Linden Street.

I took the photo on July 6th.

J.B. Wright flag for Veterans Day

Though I'm not sure that the students' flag mural was painted specifically for veterans, I jumped ahead in the archives (to May 29) so I could post it today. This is on the south side of John B Wright Elementary, along Linden, west of Catalina (here's a map).

Mural garden at the Volunteer Center

Here's a look into the Volunteer Center's entrance at 924 N. Alvernon (just north of 3rd Street) and the YVC Community Garden:

A close-up of some of the tile flowers in the garden:

I took the photos on February 20th.

Likely a mural :)

After the previous four "maybe a mural" posts, here's a fifth that probably counts as a mural... a unique garage front at 3143 E. Terra Alta.

Maybe a mural, part 24

Just a bit south of the photo in part 23 of this series is the home at 422 N. Forgeus. This is a close-up (from the street, with a zoom lens) of one of the works on the wall of this home. The lower right corner is signed "Guini".

By the way, we only show scenes that are visible from public streets or in other locations open to the public. If the wall around the home had been a couple of feet higher, I wouldn't have seen the side of the home (and you wouldn't be seeing this photo). There were construction tools on the outer wall by the sidewalk, so it might be higher by this point; if it is, I'll remove this photo after the next time I roll by to check on the mural. (And, by the way, this is far too small to see from a car. If you'd like to see the neighborhood for yourself, you might check the Google Map I linked to above, park somewhere nearby and take a stroll! Rincon Market and the wonderful Seven Cups Teahouse, among other stores, are just a block away at 6th & Tucson...)

Maybe a mural, part 23

I almost never plan the exact route of my bicycle rides; I just know generally where I'm going, and I take whatever side streets I can to stay off the major routes. For some reason, my February 20 route took me past several "maybe" murals in sequence. These are the third in that series:

A number of Tucson homes are similar, but this one was a nice example. This is on the wall of 450 N. Forgeus (on the southeast corner with 6th Street).

Maybe a mural, part 22

Five blocks farther east from the part 21 post in this series is another similar scene: art on the wall around the home as well as on the home itself. This time, though, the art is painted on the walls.

As with photos before and after, this is from my long bike ride on February 20. The home was at 2548 E. 7th Street.

(In cases like these, by the way: Whether the scene fits everyone's definition of a mural or not, I say "it's art on a wall and a lot of people will probably enjoy seeing it." That's when I stop trying to figure out whether it's a mural and just post it!)

Maybe a mural, part 21

From time to time, I post a photo of something that might or might not be defined as a mural — depending on who's doing the defining! (The previous post in the series, part 20, was on October 1.)

A row of tiles probably isn't a mural, but that's what's on the low wall around the home at 2010 E. 7th St. It's the horse on the side of the home that caught my eye (and put this into the "maybe" mural category). As always, you can click on the photo for a larger view; use your browser's "Back" button to come back here.

A (Wild)cat walks into a bar...

...and if you were expecting a joke here, you've been spared!

This is the weather-beaten mural on UA Liquors, February 20th. It's at the southeast corner of Park & 6th, and it's signed: (c)1980 Jay Geem (or Geer), 888-6596.