Hotel McCoy - Front Entrance

The new owner has refurbished a mid-century building and rebranded it as a modern art hotel where contemporary meets retro.  "From the fully restored pool & cedar-lined sauna to the A-shaped entrance & exposed posts & beams, it’s the best of both worlds."  As you will see now and in future installments, the hotel is full of art.  And it's all by local artists.  Let's begin:

 View to the north from W. Silverlake Rd.

That's a vintage(1966?) T-Bird in front.

A-Shaped Entrance Below "A" Mountain

Mural on the west side of the entrance.

"The Life In Tucson" by Daniela Umaña Vélez

Portrait of Serenity Wetherbee, also on the west side of the entrance.

"Serenity" by Jessica Gonzales

On the east side of the entrance is a circle of geometric shapes that symbolize unity and harmony.   It's called a Mándala.

"Mándala" by Daniela Umaña Vélez

Entrance to the lobby within the A-shaped main entrance.

"Tucson Toonland" by Alex Jimenez

Across from the lobby, also within the main entrance.

"Tucson Toonland" by Alex Jimenez

Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

Welcome to South Tucson (on W. 29th St.)

To distinguish itself from the surrounding City of Tucson, the 1.2 sq. mile City of South Tucson has erected welcome signs at its borders.  At least two other welcome signs have appeared in the Tucson Murals Project at Welcome to South Tucson (on 29th) and at Welcome to South Tucson (on 6th).

At S. 12th Ave., West Silverlake Rd. changes its name to W. 29th St. and that's where you'll see this welcome sign:

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Beautiful trash containers III

On February 5, 2016, the City of Tucson unveiled five metal trash containers that were painted with murals in an effort to reduce graffiti.  These containers were provided to businesses that have a high potential for graffiti and tagging.  Three of these containers have already appeared in the Tucson Murals Project at Beautiful trash containers and Beautiful trash containers II

Here is a fourth container found at Taco Fish on S. 12th Ave. and photographed on Sept. 25.  It was painted by Johanna Hand.

 Click on any of the photos for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

We know where to find the fifth (and last) container and we will photograph it in the near future.

Update (November 6, 2024): Our post today, Trash(ed) art, shows this dumpster six years later.

Beautiful trash containers II

On February 5, 2016, the City of Tucson unveiled five metal trash containers that were painted with murals in an effort to reduce graffiti.  These containers were provided to businesses that have a high potential for graffiti and tagging.  Two of these containers have already appeared in the Tucson Murals Project at Beautiful trash containers.

Here is a third container found at Walter's Market on S. 6th Ave. and photographed on Sept. 25.  It was painted by Porter McDonald who titled it "Uprising".

Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

Wildlife, 3 of 3

Jos Villabrille has redone his very long mural next to the on-ramp from Irvington Rd. onto northbound I-19.  Here's a link to the original mural: Amazing mural.

With one or two exceptions, each section of the wall is a mural unto itself. I've settled on 12 photos that I took on Sept. 26 and will present in 3 installments.  This is the third and last, so let's finish and have a beer:

Gambel's Quail and Hummingbird

Hummingbird, Lizard and a Desert Bighorn

Previous two photos stitched together

Coyote

Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

Also, an even larger, sharper and scrollable version of the stitched photo may be found here: Wildlife, 9 of 10

Enjoy your beer.

Wildlife, 2 of 3

Jos Villabrille has redone his very long mural next to the on-ramp from Irvington Rd. onto northbound I-19.  Here's a link to the previous mural: Amazing mural.

With one or two exceptions, each section of the wall is a mural unto itself. I've settled on 12 photos that I took on Sept. 26 and will present in 3 installments.  This is the second installment, so let's begin from where we left off:

Gray Fox and Ringtail

Mountain Lion and Hawk

Roadrunner and Javelina

Black-tailed Jackrabbit and Bobcat

Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

Wildlife, 1 of 3

Jos Villabrille has redone his very long mural next to the on-ramp from Irvington Rd. onto northbound I-19.  Here's a link to the previous mural: Amazing mural.

With one or two exceptions, each section of the wall is a mural unto itself. I've settled on 12 photos that I took on Sept. 26 and will present in 3 installments.  Let's begin from left to right:

Gila Monster and Horse

River Otter

Owl and Cactus Wren

Raccoon and Gila Woodpecker

Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

Aztec Symbols

Behind the wall here on this South Tucson building used to be a barbershop, and the wall had a remembrance mural For Gabriel Rene Cruz. (If you'd like to see it, click there.) Sometime in the next few years, the mural disappeared. Now this is the south wall of Cicli Noe, a bicycle repair shop on S. 6th Ave. (The north wall has two murals that are in the Murals Project at "Look out for each other" and Look out!)

This mural appears to be Aztec symbols. I believe the leftmost image is a "Coatl" (serpent). I don't know what the other image might be. Photo taken on Sept. 25:

Any comments or additional info. is appreciated.

Update: The cactus mandala was painted by Zina Rubiner and the Aztec dragon was painted by Raul Rivas. Jerry Peek took closeup photos on July 23, 2021:

BICAS

Bicycle Inter-Community Art & Salvage.  It used to be located at 44 W. 6th St. and appeared in this Blog on several occasions.  It's now on N. 7th Ave.
If you get the chance, drive-by and see the metal artwork.
These photos were taken on Sept. 17, 2018.

Entrance to the shop area. Closed on Mondays

 Unable to decipher the title of this mural or the artist.
Best guess - the title is "Dinha", meaning Afro hairstyle. The artist is BR.

Maybe a mural - artist not known

Click on any photo for a slide show of larger and sharper images.

"Crested Eclipse"

Mural by CYFI (Rock Martinez).  Photo taken 08/12/2018 in the Sky Bar parking lot on 4th Ave.

 Click on image to enlarge and sharpen.

An even larger, sharper and scrollable image can be found on Flickr

Update (April 14, 2020): The mural has changed a bit. We've posted closeup photos.

"TallBoys Cantina"

Mos Eisley Cantina on the planet Tatooine.  Han Solo is enjoying a beer and burger.  Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes are playing in the background.  Is that Chewbacca, Obi-Wan and Luke in the booth?
Artistry by Jenna Tomasello.
Photo taken 08/12/2018 at the TallBoys restaurant on 4th Ave.

Click on image to enlarge and sharpen.

Roller Rink

Photo taken at Skate Country on Aug. 20, 2018.  The artist is not known.

 Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

There's an earlier version of this wall in the March 20, 2013 entry Skate Country.

Update: BG Boyd Photo took this aerial photo:

Southwest Scenes

This is a new mural on Euclid Avenue by Joe Pagac. The main subjects are a Gila Monster and a Lizard. However, Joe has added some interesting details. For instance, there is an ant holding a cone with three scoops of ice cream. And, the lizard is reading about the benefits of push-ups. Maybe you can find other examples.

Complete Mural

South-facing Wall

West-facing Wall

Photographed on June 15, 2018. Click on any photo for a slide show of enlarged and sharpened images.

Update (January 10, 2019): Here are two closeups that Jerry Peek took on May 10, 2018:

Home of the Gators

Mural by Joe Pagac

Located at the NE intersection of I-19 and W. Valencia Rd.

Photographed on June 14, 2018.  Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Near Mercado San Agustín

I hope you've already seen Cyfi's huge Frida Kahlo / Diego Rivera mural near Mercado San Agustín. If you haven't, you can click on that link to see it being painted and read some of the story behind it — which reaches a famous mural in Mexico City.

Close by, on Avenida del Sembrador, are two more murals. Or maybe there are more by the time you read this? (To find the street, you can click on its name at the end of this article.) I took the photos below on April 26th. The first, on the side of number 160, is by Nicola Marshall. It's signed Nicola Marshall - 2018 along the right edge:

The second mural is another by Cyfi (Rock Martinez) near the roof of number 184. It's signed at the top Cyfione 18:

Dog(s) gone

(I'm doggone sorry for that title. :)

Joe Pagac painted that mural on Stray Dogs Grill. Here’s the bad news: Stray Dogs closed on January 26, 2018. Now the building has a marijuana dispensary — with a blank wall instead of the mural.

Finding Murals

How does the Tucson Murals Project find the murals in our Blog? This is the question posed by a U of A journalism student recently. To give you an idea, I’ve made a list of ten of my (Dave Aber) murals that were recently published in the blog. Often we find them by chance – especially if the mural is on a side street. Both Jerry Peek and myself like to simply wander around the city. Murals are easier to find if they are on a main north/south avenue or a main east/west street or boulevard. Also, some of the artists will contact Jerry Peek.  We also review the artists' web sites. The Arizona Daily Star will sometimes carry the story if a major mural is in progress. Schools are a great source of murals. I am amazed at the quality of art produced by our students. There are several artists that volunteer at the schools to mentor the students. We were also invited into nine schools of the Tucson Unified School District to photograph interior mosaics and murals made by students. And let's not forget the other photographers in Tucson who will often send us photos of their discoveries.

Publish
Date		Name and Location		How Found
04/27		San Juan		I knew about this mural but I don't
		1130 E Bilby Rd.		remember the source of my info.
				Sorry.
06/01		Barrio Ochoa		I had been taking photos near
		244 W 28th St.		S. 6th Ave. and E. 27th St. As I
				often do, I took the opportunity to
				drive around the neighborhood.
				I found two murals on W. 28th St.
06/08		Garden on Laguna II		Midtown is a great place to find
		202 W Laguna St.		art objects. Metal art, murals, etc.
				I was just driving around taking in
				the sights.
06/15		Tool Spot		I live near this location and had
		8609 E Golf Links Rd.		often seen this mural. I had to
				wait for a day when cars weren't
				blocking the view.
06/22		U at Park		Found both murals by chance on
		1725 N Park Ave.		different days. Hard to miss as
				both are on major avenues.
06/29		Smoke Shop		I had seen this new mural on
		5846 E Speedway Blvd.		previous occasions while driving
				on E. Speedway.
07/06		SW Family Resource Ctr.		This is a mural that I knew about
		6855 S Mark Rd.		in advance. I'm not positive but I
				think I saw a photo of it on Flickr.
07/13		Wildcat Country		On Feb 13, I was on N Campbell
		2642 N Campbell Ave.		Ave. headed to a neighborhood
				that had a high probability of
				mailbox art. I spotted this mural
				as I was flying by. I immediately
				turned around and took photos.
				I returned two weeks later on
				Feb. 27 and took photos with a
				wider angle lens.
07/20		Edge High School No. 11		Glimpsed possible artwork along
		2555 E 1st St.		a north/south alley while driving
				on E. Speedway. Turned around
				and checked it out. Fortunate to
				have my camera with me.
07/27		Los Vaqueros		Seen and photographed while
		2201 E River Rd.		having dinner at El Corral.

Los Vaqueros

Interior mural at the El Corral restaurant.  A popular cowboy steakhouse since 1939 when it was known as the El Corral Cafe.  Prime Rib is its specialty.  Try the ribs (they really do fall off the bone).

Photo taken on 04/01/2018 with my phone camera.

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Edge High School No. 11

Beginning in March of 2016 and continuing through May, Jerry Peek posted a series of 10 entries for murals and mosaics at Edge High School.  Since then, a new mural has been painted on an alley wall on the west side of the school.  I found it on Jan. 1, 2018.

1 of 3

2 of 3

3 of 3

Complete Mural

Click on any photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.

Wildcat Country

I photographed this mural by Mitch Chris (or is it Mitch & Chris?) on Feb. 27, 2018.  It's on the south wall of Plaza Liquors and Fine Wines at 2642 N. Campbell Ave.

Complete Mural

Close-up of right side

Close-up of left side

Click on any photo for a slide show of larger and sharper images.

Update (September 20, 2022): Here's an aerial photo that BG Boyd Photography took on June 26, 2022:

Southwest Family Resource Center

The Tucson Unified School District has five of these centers and..."Each Family Resource Center is equipped to help families learn about important District policies and procedures, including those concerning enrollment options, the availability of transportation, Advanced Learning Experiences, student discipline policies and procedures, curricular and student support services, and educational options for ELL children."  "Our five centers offer resources such as clothing banks, classes, bilingual services and more."

My note - ELL refers to English Language Learners.

Finally (drum roll please) here are the murals:

Click on either photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.