UGo2RiNo!

Denver's River North Arts District, which everyone calls RiNo (pronounced like “Rhino”) is a big area — many city blocks — full of murals. Even the graffiti is (mostly) artistic! It's become a giant tourist attraction, full of stores, restaurants, bars… as well as trendy housing. Could Tucson do something a bit like this some day — though on a smaller scale, with a more southwestern theme? Should Tucson?

Here are a bunch of photos in no particular order (except the last). I took them on November 16th, 2019:

That last mural shows a non-glitzy resident facing a huge rhino labeled “ART” with people who may have different plans for RiNo. The caption at left reads:

Your “street-art” is wallpaper for gentrification…
You cannot colorize that which refuses to surrender…
You cannot kill that which refuses to die…

El Molinito

On November 4, 2019 I took photos of two murals inside El Molinito, a Mexican restaurant on N. Pantano Rd.  There are other interesting murals inside the restaurant but I couldn't capture them without disturbing diners enjoying their meals.  Maybe another time.

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

Why I Love Where I Live (on 6th St.)

You'll find Why I Love Where I Live, a clothing and retail store, in the Mercado San Agustin annex. But you'll also find three murals by Danny Martin along 6th Street. I photographed them on November 12th:

(If you'd like to read the titles of those books, or whatever, click on a photo for a much larger view.)

Update (August 10, 2021): Here's the front of the building — Reproductions, Inc. — today:

Revisiting a hidden/trashed mural

Back on October 29, 2013, we showed an almost-hidden side of the mural-covered building at 191-197 East Toole Avenue. On November 12th of this year (2019), I stopped across the tracks for another look:

(As always, you can click for a much larger version.)

Surprisingly, the right half of this graffiti-covered mess is almost identical to six years ago. But taggers have trashed the former mural on the left half. Plants have grown in front, too.

If this side of the building were as visible as the others are, I'm sure it would be repainted as often as they are. Maybe in 2020?

Christmas Mural

Brawley's Restaurant (my favorite for breakfast or lunch) likes to decorate their kitchen window for each holiday.

Photographed on Dec. 21, 2019

Painted by Gorman

Click for a larger and sharper image.

A painted post

This phone pole, covered with paint and stencils (and decals?), is just south of the garage door at 222B Arizona Avenue, across a narrow driveway. In the second photo below, you can see the unfinished mural at Crooked Tooth Brewing Company:

Benson Highway

The mural is a look at the old Benson Highway.  Before I-10 was built, the Benson Highway was the main road from Tucson to Benson.  The mural was painted by Alejandra Trujillo at the El Pais Motel & Campgrounds located on the Benson Highway.

Photographed on Nov. 6, 2019

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Note - The Spanish "El Pais" translates to "The Country" in English.

Update (September 3, 2021): Today's post El Pais Motel has photos of the rest of the motel, where artists are painting lots of murals.

Red Garter Saloon

Photographed on Nov. 18, 2019.  The artist is not known.

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Palo Verde Pool

Four students from Palo Verde High School were selected to paint a mural at the Palo Verde Pool under the guidance of local artist Isaac Caruso assisted by Alex Gomez. The students chosen for the project were Alexis Hirth, Filomena Obono, Jenna Linneman and Sarina Tuskey. The mural focuses on the history and culture of the neighborhood.

Photographed on Nov. 6, 2019

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Update (June 21, 2022): Today we posted photos of a mural nearby in Palo Verde Park. While I (Jerry Peek) was taking those photos on April 26th, I took close-up photos of the pool mural:

Crossfit 520

Mural by Danny Martin at the Crossfit 520 gym on Chapel Ave.

  Photographed on Oct. 23, 2019.

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Six years ago at TMA

Between the main gallery building and the Education building at the Tucson Museum of Art is a slab that's often painted with a mural. I found a photo of it from December 7, 2013, that I never posted here:

Finally, bigger photos (when you click)!

Until recently, Blogger would charge me money if I put photos on this blog that were longer or wider than 800 pixels. That used to be pretty big, years ago... but now it's small. They've raised the limit to 2,048 pixels. (For some reason, photos that David Aber posts haven't had that limit.)

Starting this week, if you click on a photo, you'll see a much larger version. (The template that holds the photos and text is still the same width. I'll try to fix that some day. For now, you'll need to click.)

Razorz Edge

This mural is in on a thin wall in front of Razorz Edge, a clothing store on 4th Avenue just south of 6th Street.

I walked by on November 12th.

Generation Cool

You can only see the mural on the roll-down shutter over the front of this business when it's closed:

At the bottom right corner is the artist's signature:

I spotted it before opening time on November 12tn.

Mural panels on Toole five years ago

On November 22, 2014, I cruised by the two sets of mural panels along Toole Avenue north of the building at 191 East Toole. Back then, the murals on the panels were changing fairly often. I've tried to keep track of these (you can find other photos from this list), but I never posted this set of photos to the blog. First, here are the two sets of panels:

And closeups of the panels we haven't shown on the blog before 11/22/2014, from left to right:

Barrio House

The Barrio House is no longer in business. However, the mural by Danny Martin is still there at 828 S. Russell Ave. in Barrio Santa Rosa.

Photographed on Oct. 1, 2019

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Meet Me at Maynards mural walks

Every Monday starting from Maynards Market, tons of Tucsonans “get out!” to walk around downtown Tucson. Two of the walk routes visit murals. Look for the Mural Walks section near the top right corner of their webpage:

MeetMeAtMaynards.com

MMM isn't doing official tours during the fall and winter. But, for now, you can walk the tours on your own.

El Toro

This is the logo of the Toro Loco (Crazy Bull) restaurant.  It opened Aug. 2 and replaced PaPa Locos.

Photographed inside the restaurant on Oct. 1, 2019.

By Danny Martin

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

La Suprema Mural Reveal this Friday

Isaac Caruso has painted a new mural at La Suprema Works & Events in Barrio Viejo (just south of downtown). The mural unveiling is this Friday, November 15 from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. Here are a picture of the mural and a form to RSVP:

UnitedWayTucson.org/_mural_reveal

Veterans Day mural painted in 2018

I found an entry on the Cactus Catz blog, Wordless Wednesday : Veterans Day - November 15, 2018. It had four photos and a story starting with a photo caption “Monday, as I was walking, I saw a man. [H]e was painting a mural on his wall the names of the fallen. He remembers.”

Though I have permission from Cactus Catz to show her photos, I wasn't able to reach her to ask where the mural is. So I searched Google Maps' Street View. Thank you for sharing these, Mary.

Update (November 9, 2020): I have sad news — and just before Veterans Day 2020. The man who painted this wall (and repainted it over and over) — Robert M. Norwood, age 63, who (as he wrote) about military service “My family has (5) gen. in this. So far (6) lives lost in service to it.” — died after a passerby thought he was spray-painting graffiti and fought with him. Here's the story from the Arizona Daily Star: Tucson police: Man mistaken for graffiti vandal dies in Election Day clash.