Oury Community Center repainted

The longstanding mural on the east wall of the community center at Oury Park (one of the first murals on this blog: here's the 2006 page Ooh... Ahh... More Oury Park) was fading. In 2013, the city of Tucson made repairs (details below). Last month, Mark Fleming sent close-ups of parts of the repainted mural. What a change in the color!

The repainted mural isn't exactly like the previous version. For instance, compare the last photo above, from 2014, to this edited version of Randy's photo from 2006:

The United Farm Workers eagle is black; it used to be red. The man at right is clean-shaven; he used to have a mustache and goatee.

After Mark sent me the photos, I stopped by the mural to get a photo of one section he didn't photograph. It was a cloudy day — September 28 — so the color didn't look as brilliant as in his shots:

I haven't been able to find a photo of the whole mural. (And now that there's a roof over the basketball court in front of the mural, it'll be hard to get a photo of the whole mural.) I did find some of the building's history and a photo of the south side of the mural as it was being restored. It's about two-thirds of the way down the city of Tucson's page Preservation of Historic Buildings and Structures. (For a much bigger version of the photo, click there.)

I also found two older close-up photos by David Lee Guss at pixels.com:

• Left center, from 1987
• Center, 1977

If you have any old photos of this magnificent mural, please let me know!

Update (October 15, 2014): David Aber sent a photo that shows almost all of the repainted mural:

(As always, you can click on the photo for a bigger view.)

The rise and fall of Oury Park's murals

More than eight years ago — July 13, 2006 — one of Randy Garsee's first entries on this blog was The Amazing, Fantastical, Beautiful Oury Park Mural. David Aber sent a recent photo of a part of this amazing mural. You can see the same part by looking at the last photo in Randy's post (above). Here are David's photo and what he wrote:

"Much to my surprise, I discovered it’s not a mural. It’s a mosaic.

"Attached is a photo by way of illustration. The years have not been kind. Many of the tiles have detached and fallen to the ground.

"It’s not really important to me whether it’s a mural or a mosaic. My larger point is the amount of time and effort that had to have gone into attaching thousands of mosaic tiles to such a large work of art. Why would they do that?

"If it was important to the artists and the neighborhood, why is it allowed to fall into such disrepair?"

I did some searching and found photos of the mosaic tiles and the making of the mural at Hozhographos Studio.

Last week, I stopped by the mural. Not all of the mural is damaged yet, but some sections are. I tried to contact Hozhographos Studio, but the email bounced back and the phone number listed on the website doesn't connect. What a shame!

Some damaged spots:

I've heard that TPAC is working on the problem.

More on this story — another “rise!” — next week.

Murals Through Our Parents' Eyes

Years ago, the University of Arizona put a series of pages online called Through Our Parents' Eyes: History & Culture of Southern Arizona. Part of the site are six pages on Chicano Murals in Tucson. From there are links to six early muralists — Antonio Pazos, David Tineo, Luis Gustavo Mena with Paul Lira, Martin Moreno, and Roberto Castillo. Each page has mural photos by James S. Griffith.

It's worth a look. (And, by the way, we're always looking for historic murals and stories. This blog started in 2006, and we've only found a few older photos since. Please contact me; thanks.)

...and the south side

Last week, we saw the north side of Arizona 1 Automotive & Repair. Here's the south side overall...

...and close-up:

The photos are from Mark Fleming.

New Superheroes on South Sixth

Back on December 17, 2011, we posted a photo of three panels on the north side of Arizona 1 Automotive Repair. Fast-forward three years, to earlier this month: Mark Fleming sent a photo of the new mural on that wall...

Here are closeups:

I drove by a week ago. The right side of the mural — the last photo above — has been tagged. :-( At least you can enjoy it here, thanks to Mark.

Coming next: the opposite (south) side of the building.

Fading on Fourth

Mark Fleming sent a lot of new mural photos this past week. (Thanks so much, Mark!) This one is a street scene, pasted on a wall of 2302 South 4th. The bits of green around the edges are in front of the mural, and the wall behind it is showing. With the shape it's in — part on the wall, and part peeling off — I don't know how much longer it'll last.

Maybe a mural, part 61: gate by Dave Aber

Hardly anyone would call a gate a “mural.” But, from time to time, we include “flat” art that's not paint or tile on a wall. Here’s a photo from Dave Aber of a gate you’ll want to keep your distance from:

It’s covered with swords and etc.

Thanks to Dave for helping to keep this blog lively until I can get back to photography! And if you have a photo of a mural (or some flat art) that you haven’t spotted on this blog, please email it to me: infoATtucsonartDOTinfo (replace AT with @ and DOT with .).

Lucky Wishbone on 22nd revisited

David Aber sent two photos showing parts of the long mural next to the Lucky Wishbone restaurant on 22nd. As he points out, “The Lucky Wishbone building prevents a wide angle photo of the entire mural.”

There are more photos from three years ago in Barrio Centro mural unveiling.

Thanks, David!

More from Mark Fleming

I'm especially grateful to Mark for these photos of the WintaFresh venue because I can't photograph these days.

So, thanks, Mark!

Santa Cruz River at Eckstrom-Columbus library

When you walk into the branch library at 22nd & Columbus, this 59-foot-long mural is hard to miss:

Jim Waid did the work in 1977. You can read more on the library's website.

Maybe a mural, part 60: saw a door on S. Meyer

This door is covered with saw blades painted various colors.

A "mural" it's not. But it's fun flat art, so it fits in this occasional "maybe a mural" category.

Maybe a mural, part 59: screens on S. Meyer

Here's another example of "flat" art that you might not call a "mural". It's these creative window screens on the north side (along the alley) of 808 S. Meyer:

I snapped them on July 28, 2013.

Behind El Minuto

On August 15, 2012, I showed three photos of El Minuto, at 354 S. Main Avenue. But I missed the back (south) side. Here's a photo from July 28, 2013:

Casa de las Flores

This long mural, titled (at the top-left corner) Casa de las Flores (House of the Flowers), is on the east side of Olsen south of 9th. It's just north of the first alley (as a homeowner told me, this part of the Sam Hughes neighborhood has long, narrow lots framed by two alleys, named "key lots"). The home's address is 2102 E. 9th Street. I found it on June 30th.

A radiator at Five Points Office

This mural is along the sidewalk. I found it on April 27th. (As always, you can click for a larger view.)

Update (August 4, 2020): I snapped this close-up of the credits:

Borton Community Garden

On June 28th I found Borton Community Garden, southeast of Borton Primary Magnet School, watched over by a big mosaic mural:

Kindness covers tags

I saw this Ben's Bells mural June 28th on the side of a storage container behind — that is, northwest of — Allegra Print & Imaging. (The office address is 1300 S. Park, but container is just south of 23rd Street along the alley between Park and Tyndall.) I went inside to ask the story. The container had been tagged pretty badly, so students from the nearby Borton Magnet School painted the mural over the tags.

We'll see more from Borton Magnet School next time.

Ben's Bells at Starr Center

One of the series of “be kind” murals is on the west side of the Dr. M. Lee Starr Learning Center:

Here's a close-up of the bottom left corner:

I snapped the photos on June 27th.

Prickly (and peaceful) panel

Outside the garden wall around the home at 589 N. Plumer Avenue is this pleasant spot... with a bunch of our prickly friends standing by. (That address came from Google Maps; the spot, as you can see by clicking the street address, is at the southwest corner of 5th & Plumer. For some reason, the "Location:" box at the bottom of this article wouldn't accept the location.)

I was there on June 27th.

The Coyote Wore Sideburns

June 27th, with real cactus in front of the painted cactus: