Humble (fumble?) murals

This mural, on a wall by the football field in Estevan Park (near the corner of Speedway and 13th Avenue), is showing its age: the paint has faded and parts are peeling away from the wall. But it still adds some lively art to a mostly empty field.

Almost any Tucson mural, no matter how humble, has a home on this blog. (And sorry for the bad rhyme in the title. But hey, like I said a month ago, how many clever mural titles are Randy and I supposed to come up with?? :)

Classy Contzen

In May of last year, we showed a bit of the murals to come in Barrio Anita. The I-10 freeway widening is done, and here's that view today -- closer up, now that the street isn't closed.

Tucson muralist David Tineo grew up in this neighborhood, and I'm wondering if that's the artist standing next to the Anita St. Market (which has murals of its own). If you know, please add a comment or send me email!

Once I was on Contzen Avenue, I could see a new little park snuggled next to the tall soundproofing wall. (At least, it was new to me! The Tucson-Pima Arts Council website says the mural was completed in 2005 and is one of a series of three -- including the Oury Park mural that Randy photographed in 2006.)

Anyway, the wall is covered with a spectacular mural. Here are two parts of it, starting from the north end (the part with the store, shown in the first photo):



The south end has a little ramada and a couple of tables with a 20-foot-high violinist to serenade you while you eat. Thanks to that wall, the freeway noise is just a whisper. (If the city can't pick up the trash, though, maybe one of the people in the neighborhood, or a visitor who's not on a bicycle like I was, could do it once in a while...)



Update (August 12, 2011): Philip Synder has great close-up photos of parts of these murals on his SmugMug page Barrio Anita mural, Tucson.

Update (September 26, 2014): The waymarking.com website has a page with lots of details: The 1008 North Contzen Street Mural.

Update: Google Maps lists an address of 1069 N. Contzen Avenue near the south end of the little park. (It isn't Contzen Street. In Tucson, avenues run north-south.)

Better than concrete

The I-10 widening through downtown Tucson and north didn't just add lanes: it added murals. Here are two of them along the east-side frontage road at the corner with St. Mary's:

The first photo shows the multi-color, multi-media mural at the northeast corner.

And the second photo shows the photos on the northwest corner -- a scene like Windows to the Past, Gateway to the Future in downtown Tucson.

Twelve Tribes on Fifth and Eighth

That's the view of Twelve Tribes Reggae Shop, 345 N. 5th Avenue, from the corner with 8th Street.

(Not) Mural Lovers, part 2

This once-proud mural in the memory of Maclovio R. Barraza (a Tucson labor activist who died in 1980), has been wrecked by vandals. Parts of some panels are still lying on the ground in front of and behind the wall. It's at the 22nd Street exit from Barraza-Aviation Parkway.

(If you'd like to see this sad sight, try parking around 22nd & Wilson, then walking west a block along the south side of 22nd. There's a happier scene nearby, at Wilson & Warwick Vista.)

(Not) Mural Lovers, part 1

This mural by Chris Rush at 15th and Cherry (a block west of Kino Parkway at Winsett) has been up for a couple of years; there's more detail on the TPAC website. All of the detail and variety makes it fun to look at. (Don't miss the souvenir map of southern Arizona.)


When I was here a year ago, someone had trashed the image of a happy man wearing a t-shirt saying "I get high on life" by crossing out "on life". When I came back this weekend, that had been fixed... but a few other panels, like this one, had been tagged. C'mon, taggers, can't you please show more respect?

Update (April 11, 2018): Today's Cactus Catz blog entry has photos of, I think, all the mural panels: WW : Cherry Field Portraits.

What's on (at) the Rialto

At the end of last year and the start of this one, the Rialto Theatre had a Sonic Youth concert mural on their wall, greeting people driving into downtown from the east. That mural couldn’t last forever (we hoped). On a ride into downtown today, that mural had been replaced by two — for the George Tnorogood and Ozmali concerts in March:


The mural is signed by Joe Pagac. Thanks to the Rialto and Joe for giving us something to look at as we sit in traffic coming into downtown.

But that's not all. Next to that mural, just a bit south, is this skull mural next to a side door:


(And then there's the mural on the south end of the wall.)

MORE on Park

The Project M.O.R.E. High School at 440 S. Park has a rainbow of tiles on the front and at spots around the inside:

New mural, same lot

Back in August, 2006, Randy posted the story of a mural behind an ugly lot just north of the corner of Speedway and Stone (1122 N. Stone).

Today there's a new mural, but the lot is still ugly:

The mural was painted by Rock Martinez.

Update (May 1, 2010): Here's the same mural at night.

Here's a Tucson Citizen article (December 3, 2009) about the mural: AWESOME Dia De Los Muertos Mural completed on Stone/Speedway!

Update (December 26, 2010): Rock is the owner of the new Art Terrain Art Gallery at 519 N. 4th Avenue.

Update (February 8, 2011): You can read and watch an Arizona Public Media interview with Rock Martinez that also covers Tucson's graffiti problem.

Update (January 1, 2015): Here's the new mural, painted a year ago or so.

Three streets, three murals: #3

Farthest west from Columbus in the series of three murals is the mural that wraps around the corner of Broadway and Calle de Jardin (Garden Street). This one is by Manny Garcia:

I took the photos on February 14, 2010.

Update: Here are links to more photos of the home and of the street just south of here. There are other photos of the area around this blog, the Tucson Mailbox Art blog, and the public art section of TucsonArt.info.

Update (October 14, 2022): The mural has changed. Today's post shows that — and also has close-up photos of the whole mural.

Three streets, three murals: #2

Between the murals in the previous and next entries, you'll find a beautifully-painted home at the corner of Broadway & Bryant. Here are three views I photographed February 17, 2010:

Update (June 21, 2022): The mural has been repainted and the wall top has changed. The home is for sale. Today's post Mural for sale: $464,900! (home included) has lots of photos.

Three streets, three murals: #1

Along Broadway, just west of Columbus, are three murals spread between three street corners. This first one, at the corner of Calle El Centro and Broadway, might sort of stretch the definition of "mural"... but it's on a wall, and it's close to the other gorgeous murals, so check it out if you're in the area!

Desert vehicles and critters

Art lovers who want to get out of town (way out of town), try Desert Truck & RV Sales, 2309 S. Craycroft (just south of 32nd St.). The building is wrapped with murals:


including some famous desert critters:

DeGrazia chapel

The chapel at DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun (6300 N. Swan, near Skyline) is a special place. Ted DeGrazia, who studied in Mexico with muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, lined the chapel walls with murals:



Update (May 31, 2017): A fire badly damaged these frescoes. Today's entry has a link to the Arizona Daily Star article about the fire, with photos.

Vista del Monte neighborhood welcome

The mosaic mural and desert animals at the corner of Glenn and Columbus welcome you to the Vista del Monte neighborhood.

Slow down on North Craycroft...

... or, better yet, ride a bicycle (so it's easy to stop)... to see murals like this one on walls along the roadway between River and Sunrise. The walls are painted with orange and red swirls that flow around the murals. (This one is across the street from the intersection with Placita de Royale.)

Drive-thru cafe

Want to drive through a café? Try the CoffeeXChange at 6841 E. Camino Principal (which is a confusing address; it's on Tanque Verde just east of the stoplight at Camino Principal). On the north wall is this café scene... with a menu and speaker at the left side and the pick-up window at the right side (just out of the photo). Mais oui!

Spicy mural

The mural that wraps around El Pueblo Viejo Salsa Company (2514 S. 4th Avenue) has some parts in outline (like the ghostly musician on front), some parts flat (like the painted-on window and the bricks around the door), and some parts... well, check it out yourself when you're in South Tucson for a meal or a visit to see all of the art along the streets.

Sit a while, enjoy the art

If Jeff's Auto Parts weren't on a main street -- 2412 S. 4th Avenue in South Tucson -- you might think you were right at home, with two places to sit and two mosaic murals to admire.

Sue's Fish & Chips

You'll find these two murals along 4th Avenue in South Tucson, at the corner of 35th Street, Sue's Fish & Chips. The second one is signed Lira Designs, 218-9882:



Update (November 27, 2014): Today we posted Mark Fleming's photos from September, 2014 showing a much-improved mural. For instance, the rough "steak fingers" sign and corral at the left edge of the second photo above are now bright and crisp.