Murals along I-19 near Valencia

Just north of the Valencia exit from I-19 is a neighborhood full of murals along Calle Pinta (which follows just to the east of I-19) and the streets that join it. To get there, take Valencia east from the I-19 junction. Take the first left (head north) onto S. Santa Clara Avenue. Then the fourth left will be S. Santa Maria Street. Drive west until the road reaches Calle Pinta and makes a right turn to parallel the freeway. Here's the first mural you'll see:

Mural along Calle Pinta, on wall of house at 966 Calle Antonia

Look to the left at the sound wall next to I-19 for two pairs of mosaic murals:

Calle Pinta at Calle Margarita

Calle Pinta at Calle Garcia

The rest of the murals are to the east side of Calle Pinta. Some are on the side streets that join Calle Pinta:

Along Calle Pinta, around house at 966 Calle Margarita

Along alley between Calle Garcia and Calle Margarita,
around house at 966 Calle Margarita

Along Calle Pinta, house at 966 Mossman St.

Along alley between Calle Francita and Mossman Street,
around house at 966 Mossman

Along alley between Calle Francita and Mossman Street,
house at 965 Calle Francita

Western-most panel of house wall along alley
between Calle Francita and Mossman Street,
house at 965 Calle Francita

Aalong Calle Pinta, wall around house at 965 Calle Francita

Click on any photo for a larger view. I took them on October 9, 2011.

Still quiet at the Rialto

Two months ago, I noticed that the murals on the east side of the Rialto Theatre weren't changing as often as they used to. I posted a photo on April 14th.

I went back three days ago — May 17th — and saw that the murals had all changed... and they'd all been there for about a month since the date of the last event. I'll hope Joe Pagac has plenty of other work to do! Here's the scene:

"Bee" means flowers, yes?

A business with "Bee" in its name should have flowers in its murals, eh? Mr B's Rentals & Sales, 5736 S. 12th (at Drexel) did. I found them on October 9, 2011.

Here are the southeast corner, the east wall from the north end, and the north wall:

Murals being made, part 8 (Kindness, part 3)

From time to time I find a mural that's being worked on. (The last time was the day before July 9, 2011.) Yesterday I stopped by to check out the newest mural in the Kindness series that Ben's Bells is spreading around town. (Two others I've found were near Tyndall by the U of A and along Toole near 6th).

This new mural is in the plaza just southwest of the corner of Congress & Stone.

Update (September 2, 2022): A few years ago, as part of downtown's redevelopment, the mural was taken down and stored. Now it's been reinstalled in a magnificent way. There are photos in Mural disappears, comes back even better.

Tucson Murals Project on Facebook

Randy has started a Facebook page with a fresh view of the murals from this blog:

www.facebook.com/TucsonMurals

If we have just one photo of a mural, he'll show it. When we post more than one photo, he'll link to the blog so you can see them all here. Either way, you can get his take on the murals I post here on the blog. Please have a look (and a “like,” if you'd like).

Botanica Reyna de los Milagros Santa Muerte

412 W. Ajo Way early on October 9, 2011:

Kindness, part 2

Our December 13, 2009 post First mural in "kindness corridor" showed the start of mural outreach by the Ben's Bells project — to remind visitors to the University district, downtown, and other parts of town to be kind. We'll post more kindness-inspiring murals as we find them (and, I'm glad to say, there'll probably be lots!).

On Friday the 11th, I read the Arizona Daily Star article Downtown's kindness mural, with the story of a new mural on a plywood structure at Stone & Congress. I'm hoping to have more photos of the mural as it's filled in.

A month before that, on April 7, I spotted a new mural along the east side of Toole Avenue between 7th and 6th:

Update (October 4, 2012): A similar four-panel mural has been painted just south of this one.

Twenty murals (and a plaque) for #600

Randy started this blog almost six years ago: July 12, 2006. Today's post is our 600th, and we've got a ways to go! (The unpublished murals pages show some of the murals that aren't on the blog yet.) Today we've got 21 more murals for you: 20 murals and a plaque (that you might count as a "mural").

The Adult Learning Center at El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, 101 W. Irvington, is filled with murals. Back on May 4, 2010, we posted four murals on the north side of the center. When I rode by from the south on October 9th, 2011, I found 21 more (and I might have missed a couple!). I discovered them when I spotted one of the mosaic-topped arches at an entrance to the courtyard that runs between the buildings. What a mural-lovers’ Mecca!

Above is the plaque on the wall by the south entrance. Below, the southern entrance portal: the south side, then the north:

Next, let's take a walk past the first ten classrooms, from south to north. By each door is a mural with a desert plant and the name that English-speakers typically use for it. There's also a square plaque with the room number and the name of that same desert plant in Spanish. (At least, that's my guess from looking at the pattern...) I'll list the room number and Spanish name (from the plaque) next to each mural:

	Room 1 Maguey
	Room 2 Biznaga
	Room 3 Cholla
	Room 4 Alamo
	Room 5 Palo Fierro
	Room 6 Pitahaya
	Room 7 Sotol
	Room 8 Jojoba
	Room 9 Mezquite
	Room 10 (Palo Verde) GED Testing Examen de GED

The signs for the next four classrooms, 11 through 14, touch the mural and are wrapped in the same border. So I'll show them without labels:

I was here on October 9, while the building was closed. But the classroom doors have small glass windows, and I saw that rooms 5 and 6 have spectacular stained glass on the opposite walls. I shot these two photos through the little windows. (As always, you can click on a photo for a larger view.)

At the other end of the courtyard (which is on the west side of the buildings) is another arch with mosaic murals on top. Here are the east and west sides of the arch:

New in Dunbar/Spring

Melodi King sent this photo of a street corner in the art-filled Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood. It's a new mural painted on a street junction by Rock Martinez and Joe Pagac.

I haven't had a chance to check out the area recently, so if you know the address, please send me email or leave a comment below. Thanks, and enjoy!

Update (May 15, 2012): I realized that I could check the Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood website. Sure enough, the first listing, Neighborhood Mural Complete!, said that the mural is at the corner of 11th & University. It mentions that neighborhood residents helped paint. And it has three photos.

Update (October 10, 2014): The mural has faded quite a bit in three years. You can see it being painted in Rock Martinez' photos.

Around Artemis

On April 6, 2010, we showed a mural on the south wall of Artemis Design, 2943 N. Stone. On October 4, 2011, I noticed that the north side of the building also has art:

Winsett Park mural (before) being restored

If you've walked along Fourth Avenue or been to one of the festivals there, you've probably seen the mural “Together We Thrive” that wraps around Winsett Park, 316 N. 4th.

The Tucson Arts Brigade is restoring the mural. If you're between 13 and 17 and you want to help, they meet each Tuesday between 3 and 5 PM at Howenstine Magnet High School, 555 South Tucson Blvd. There's more info on the Tucson Arts Brigade website murals page; though it (currently) says the project will finish in April, Michael Schwartz (TAB's Executive Director) told me that the target date is now June 15th. If you'd like, you can bring a mentor up to age 22 or so.

I stopped by the park on October 4, 2011 — before restoration started — and found the gates were open. (The park is often closed when there isn't an event going on.) I snapped a series of photos in a semicircle from the rear wall southeast, to the beans and seeds under the west end of the back wall, to the west end of the north wall, to the right (east) end of the north wall:

We've posted some earlier photos of two parts of the mural, as well as a photo of the stage (which isn't shown above).

Uncle Bob's second mural

Back on March 11, 2010, we posted a photo of the mural along Glenn, just east of Stone, at Uncle Bob's Used Cars.

On October 4, 2011, I noticed another car-and-road mural just south of the one mentioned above. It was along the south side of the parking lot for Uncle Bob's. Though the official address for Uncle Bob's is 20 E. Glenn, I guesstimated that the wall was at 2756 N. Stone. Whatever... here's a photo (as always, you can click for a larger view):

On fire on Stone

When I rode by on October 4, 2011, this store at the corner of Stone and Jacinto had flames coming out of the roof. I didn't call 911, of course, but I thought it was a fun idea for a mural.

Here's a closer view of the mural on their middle window:

Come on down! Aloha! Assuming those flames weren't real, I'm sure they have some hot deals...

The bottom mural is signed Gorman 696-3480.

29th Street overpass dedication May 9th

The pedestrian bridge over 29th Street at Columbus has been getting a mural makeover for the past two years. (If you haven't seen it recently, there are photos in our March 14th entry.)

The Tucson Arts Brigade press release says that the project is almost done. The unveiling celebration will be Wednesday, May 9th, from 3:30 to 6:30 PM. See you there!

Update (May 15, 2012): I missed the celebration. Here's a news report and some new photos of the overpass from TucsonNewsNow.com (KOLD/KMSB): Murals showcase Tucson talent, fight tagging.