Out of This World

Explore an otherworldly mural on the wall of the

University of Arizona's

Phoenix Mars Mission Science Operations Center in Tucson.

Here's an article from the UA about the mural as it was being painted.

It's located on the corner of 6th Avenue and Drachman. The address is 1415 N. 6th Ave.

Hmm.. Date's not right on pic above. It was actually snapped by my daughter, Isabelle, in March, 2008. (The staring goofball on the sidewalk is me). Crazy Cameras. Funny story though: Isabelle told me about this mural, but didn't know where it was. So we were driving around, looking for murals, and I turned at 6th & Drachman. Bam! Nearly ran right into Mars!

Update (October 1, 2014): Here's an article from the Tucson Citizen archive from December 16, 2006: UA’s Mars mural will be city’s largest.

Update (January 29, 2015): There's a new space mural around the corner.

Update (June 19, 2022): We've added an aerial view of this mural to the entry for the new space mural (click above).

That's Chicago!

"I shot this mural in the alley behind the

Chicago Music Store in downtown Tucson."
Warren V.

Silverbell Wildlife

"Here are some really nice murals located at 351 N Silverbell (South of St Mary's Hospital)."

Warren V.

Update (July 21, 2024): Google Maps Street View shows the murals still here in August 2023. They face Silverbell, behind a SunTran bus stop.

Taquerias Lupitas

Not Your Father's Grafitti

If you merely glance at the north side of Taquerias Lupitas on Stone Avenue, you may think some really talented grafitti artist attacked the building.

However, on closer inspection, you can see this is a work of art. Its location is unfortunate because there is not easy access to it, but if you park in the lot next door at The Coffee Vein, you can walk over for a closer look.

Update (September 3, 2012): The mural is gone.

Update (July 20, 2024): The building is at 1535 N. Stone Avenue. It looks the same as the second photo above, but now it houses Hookaholics, “Hookah Lounge & More.”

El Rio by Tineo

"These pictures were taken at the El Rio Neighborhood Center located at 1390 W Speedway.
cheers,
Warren V."

And as you'll be able to see from Warren's pictures is the signature of the amazing muralist and artist David Tineo. Tineo suffers from macular degeneration, but his vision of art will always stay with Southern Arizona... and the Tucson Murals Project.

(Update by Jerry Peek: An Arizona Daily Star article on December 3, 2005, Opinion by Ernesto Portillo Jr.: World darkens for muralist says that Tineo painted his first mural in 1975, two years out of high school, here at the El Rio Neighborhood Center. In 2005, at 50 years old, David Tineo was losing his eyesight.

In another article, on January 22, 2006, As the light fades, Tom Beal wrote that Tineo started the El Rio murals in 1974 and restored them in the spring of 2005. He was losing his vision and "found himself losing balance atop the scaffold. He had to abandon the job and give up teaching at Pima Community College."

To find more about David Tineo and his murals, type his name into the search box near the top right corner of this blog.)

Update (January 23, 2012): There are more photos on the post El Rio revisited.

In The News: Tucson Murals Project

The Tucson Murals Project was in the Thursday, May 1st edition of the Arizona Daily Star. Here's the link: https://www.azstarnet.com/sn/caliente/236642.php.

Update (July 20, 2024): The link above is broken. The story, “Former anchor's site documents city murals,” is at: https://tucson.com/entertainment/former-anchors-site-documents-city-murals/article_f2f6f86f-a279-5806-8905-b35386c6e1e8.html

You Aorta Have Some Coffee

The Coffee Vein

I don't know if an exploding heart is a good way to advertise your coffee shop, but it certainly seems to work for The Coffee Vein. Besides, I'm a bleeding heart for good coffee. You can find this caffeinated hot spot at 1545 North Stone Avenue.

The Artist's Signature:

Update (June 19, 2016): Look closely at that signature and you'll see CyFi one, a.k.a. Rock Martinez. I spotted this while updating our article Rock Martinez in the Tucson Citizen, 2008.

Update (July 20, 2024): I compared the second photo above — the one with MOTORCYCLES ONLY — to Google Maps Street View. The photo is taken from the southeast corner of the building, facing north. It looks like the whole building has been replaced with a new one that now holds Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Bookmans: Grant & Campbell

The Bookmans on the southeast corner of Grant & Campbell has an extensive mural covering the east side of the store. The artists' names, Skidd Rockwell and Pete Young, are pictured at the bottom.

Mariscos Mural

This mural comes to the Tucson Murals Project from Warren V. He writes:

I enjoy your Tucson street murals blog and pictures. Here is one for your consideration with a picture I took today that you can use (I did a very slight photoshop removal of some grafitti on one side of it).
The mural is located at the SW corner of 1st and Swan, no idea who the artist is.
Cheers,
Warren V.

The Legacy of Cesar Chavez

One not easily found, because it is in an industrial area off Benson Highway, is the PPEP mural that honors Cesar Chavez and also depicts the original 1957 Chevy bus “La Tortuga” (tortoise) that was used when PPEP started in 1967. The artist is Luis Mena.

Submitted by Neil Amstutz

Update (September 9, 2012): Thanks to Google and an article about the PPEP Farmworker Hall of Fame, I (Jerry) found the mural. It's at 802 E. 46th Street.

Update (July 18, 2024): Google Maps Street View shows that the mural was still there during April, 2022:

A"maze"ing Mural

Directly across Ajo from Hollinger Elementary (133 W. Ajo) is this office building with a silhouette of a Native American gathering fruit from the top of a saguaro cactus. There is also a Native American and a bird and the Tohono O’odham “man in the maze”. Artist unknown. Submitted by Neil Amstutz

Update (September 16, 2012): The mural has been painted over in bright green (to match other buildings nearby) and this is now a T-Mobile store.

Update (July 18, 2024): Since 2012 (according to Google Maps Street View), the wall has either been a solid red color or had advertising signs.

It's Elementary, My Dear Hollinger.

Submitted by Neil Amstutz:

"At Hollinger Elementary near 6th and Ajo

is this mural that appears weathered by

our desert sun. An Arizona flag appears

with smaller flags of America and Mexico

overlaid on it. There is also a saguaro

cactus, a palm tree and some depictions

of desert creatures. Artist(s) unknown."

Don't Pooh-Pooh Cartoon Murals

Neil Amstutz submitted the pictures below and wrote:

"At Park Avenue and 30th Street is a

yellow building with Winnie the Pooh

overlooking a dirt lot that may have

been for a day care."

On the block wall on the opposite side of the dirt lot

is a long stretch of popular characters that include

Jiminy Cricket, Oscar the Grouch, Dalmations, Huey,

Dewey and Louie, Cars characters, Tigger, Mickey

Mouse, Pinocchio, Pokemon characters and a few others.

The artist's name is written 'by Billy Sanchezs'."

Update (June 11, 2017): Randy had made the intersection (Park Avenue and 30th Street) into a link to a Google map. That link didn't work anymore. So I've put the exact street address in the "Location" line below; If you'd like to see a map, click it.

Also, the most recent Google StreetView, October 2016, shows that the business is named My Little Angels Daycare. That StreetView also shows that the first mural in this blog entry (Winnie the Pooh) was still there. The second mural had been covered with some play equipment and at least one fence.

Holy Mural! It's Painted Over!?!

Neil Amstutz e-mailed this photo and wrote that this mural "used to be on Alvernon south of 29th street on the tattoo parlor. The wall has since been painted white unfortunately. I do not know how long the mural had been there." Amstutz took the photo in May 2007.

Does anyone know the artist? If so, please leave a comment at the end of this post. (You can remain anonymous.)

Update (July 18, 2024): The photo looks very similar to the current Ancient Art Tattoo at 2108 South Alvernon Way.

September 11th Mural: Painted Over

Neil Amstutz wrote about this mural that it "used to be at Mission and Ajo at Pancho & Angie’s tire shop. Unfortunately, I could not get there any time when the lighting was decent [or] that someone wasn’t parked in front of the mural. It showed the Twin Towers. Also unfortunately, this mural was also painted over this past summer. I think it had been there since early 2002."

If you know the artist's name, please leave a comment below. (You can remain anonymous.)

Update (July 20, 2024): I tried to find the business address to put a marker on this blog's mural map. On YellowPages.com, I found P & A Tire and Auto Service, 3761 S. Mission Road, at the northeast corner with Ajo Way. (It's actually closer to Ajo than to Mission.) The listing says P & A has been in business for 21 years; this photo from 2008 is now 16 years old.

God is in the Details... & the Mural

This mural is located on "westbound Broadway at Columbus. This mural is still there."

Submitted by Neil Amstutz

If you know the artist's name, please e-mail me: randygarsee@gmail.com

Update (April 12, 2012): The artist is Cindy Guare.

10th Avenue (On The Edge of South Tucson)

SUPER South 10th Avenue

By: Jerry Peek

One good spot for a quick mural overload is on South 10th Avenue, just as you cross into the city of South Tucson at 25½ Street. (From 22nd Street in Tucson, turn south at the light onto 10th Ave.) They're everywhere: on your right and your left, and on a couple of side streets too. So, drive slowly or park on a side street and walk back for a closer look.

First, on the left (the east side), is this collection of food and beverages -- possibly intended to start you thinking about all of the restaurants and taquerias farther south, after 10th turns into 12th:



Half a block farther, at 26th: the sun, the moon, and a star — by Carlos Valenzuela:


The Tucson Electric Power substation at 27th has a full block of wraparound mural. Here's some of the show -- including three pirate ships whose captain, I think, was named Columbus:




Galloping horses at 27th, and floating lots-of-things at 28th:



There's more! But I'll leave that for you to discover... and wrap this up with a way to (partly) wrap a mobile home in a mural -- including a saguaro, and many saguaro blossoms -- at the corner of 10th and 36th:


Update (October 1, 2014): A July 23, 1994 article in the Tucson Citizen, Cultural Art, covers murals along this section of 10th Avenue and has quite a bit of information about Antonio Pazos' mural at the Tucson Electric Substation on 27th Street.

Update (September 7, 2015): Much more detailed photos of the power station murals at 10th Ave. and 27th St. are in today's entry, 10th at 27th revisited.

Update (January 7, 2016): Mark Fleming sent more-detailed photos of the mural with running horses.

MEAT Me in Tucson!

Farmer John's Meats. It's boarded up and out of business. Must've had a mooo-ving sale.

This is a massive mural that spans a couple of hundred feet. You'll find it at 1102 W. Grant Road, just east of I-10. As I recall, there was also some grafitti at the rear of the building that was somewhat detailed, although it had nothing to do with the cows and cowboys of the Farmer John's Meats mural. And that's no bull! (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Update (March 11, 2012): There are more photos in our October 7, 2011 post.

Update (December 13, 2023): The Arizona Daily Star article Tucson Oddity: Farmer John mural the very picture of roadside art, written 9/27/2010 and updated 7/21/2014, says “Painted in 1963 by Leslie Grimes, a former Hollywood scene painter, the panoramic mural depicts dozens of cattle charging through the desert on an outer wall along the north side of Grant.” It also says the mural was touched up over the years. (Artists have told me that murals on the south and west sides of buildings fade more quickly because they're blasted by Tucson sun.)

Thanks to Doris Evans, from the Facebook group Tucson Murals and Street Art, for that tip.