Head Hunters Smoke Shop

I arrived early on Jan. 1, 2018 before the shop opened so that there would be no cars obstructing the view.  Instead, there were several police cars, the area was blocked by yellow tape, and there were evidence tags scattered around the parking lot.  I found out later that a woman had been shot at around 5 a.m.  Her injuries were not considered life threatening.  I was never able to find any further information.

I returned later in the day to get this photo:

Click for a larger and sharper image.

U at Park

These two murals may bring back memories of your college days.  The "U at Park" Apartments has two locations with the same name.  One is at N. Park Ave. and E. Lester St. (formerly Casa España).  The other is at N. Euclid Ave. and E. Elm St. (formerly Casa Royale).

Park Avenue Location

Mural by Michael Schwartz

"Set Your Goals Higher"

Euclid Avenue Location

  Mural by Michael Schwartz assisted by Valeria Hutchings

It's Not All Study (don't tell my parents)

Click on either photo for larger and sharper images.

Tool Spot

West wall of the Tool Spot, LLC. on Jan 1, 2018.

Now Hiring

Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Aug. 1, 2018 - The Tool Spot is no longer hiring.  The mural has been painted over.

Garden on Laguna II

The mural that Jerry Peek posted on Jan. 29, 2012 has been replaced.  See Garden on Laguna
The new mural is on the east wall of the former Ernie's Market.  The building is apparently now empty and unused.
In any case, here it is:

The address is 202 W. Laguna St., but the mural is viewed from N. Castro Ave.
The artist(s) are unknown.  Click on the photo for a larger and sharper image.

Barrio Ochoa

Residence at 244 W. 28th St., City of South Tucson, AZ in Barrio Ochoa.

West Wall Along S. 9th Ave.

The Hands of God

South Wall Along W. 28th St.

Noah's Ark

Photos were taken on Jan. 1, 2018.  Click on either photo for enlarged and sharpened images.

Kickin' It!

The Ann Kathryn Schmidt Kickin’ It Clubhouse is for Tucson youth soccer. It's near Dodge Blvd. at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park. (You can see photos of the rest of the park in our article Brandi Fenton Memorial Park.) There's a nice sign. Near the other end of the building, next to the entrance are, of course :) murals:

I found info on two web pages: FC Tucson Youth Soccer Club and the AKS Kickin' It Clubhouse Facebook page.

The mural with a border of soccer balls is signed Artwork by Gail T. Roberts Studio at the bottom right. The photos are from June 3, 2017.

P.S. For some reason, the official address of the park is on River Road (it's at the bottom of this page), and Google Maps will show you the middle of the park if you click on that address. But the park actually stretches from the southwest corner of Alvernon and Dodge, and the clubhouse is near that corner.

New "augmented-reality" mural on 191 E. Toole

Here's one of the most intriguing mural ideas I've seen. It’s in the Arizona Daily Star article Tucson's first 'augmented reality' mural used to encourage young people to vote. The article begins:

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission is making a push to sign up millennials to vote ahead of the November elections with the help from a special mural that was placed on a downtown Tucson building popular with young people.

The commission is betting young adults will want to take videos of themselves in front of the “augmented reality” mural that — when viewed through a smartphone — adds animated colorful wings to their bodies while birds fly around them. Once using the app, the commission hopes users will then take a few minutes to follow a link on their smartphones that registers them to vote.

I'll try to figure out a way to take a photo of someone there and update this blog entry to show it. There's a photo in the story, though… and more photos if you search Twitter or Instagram for the hashtag #18in2018. That hashtag will show similar murals around Arizona — especially, of course, in the Phoenix area.

Update (January 11, 2019): Today's blog entry shows the mural and examples of how it works.

Arizona Palms updated

Just south of last week's article Still High & Dream Smoke & Flower Shop is Arizona Palms Tinting Company. Seven years ago, it had a very different mural. When I was next door, I noticed the AZ Palms’ mural on the front of the building. Then I went around to the narrow driveway on the south side (which I couldn't photograph straight-on because the driveway was so narrow):

The front still had the same clock at the top as it did seven years ago, but this time it wasn't working. I took the photos on June 23, 2017.

Update (January 19, 2021): There are closeups in today's entry Arizona Palms Tinting, closer.

Mural-covered smoke and flower shop

I never thought I'd see a store that sells both tobacco and flowers. Still, Still High Dream Smoke & Flower Shop is just that. It's covered with murals and artistic signs (at least, it was when I took these photos on June 23, 2017).

Here are the front of the store and the side of the building along the parking lot:

Update (January 22, 2021): There's a new mural behind the parking lot. We also have close-ups of the murals shown here: Still High Dreams, closer

KVOA story on Joe Pagac's latest mural

KVOA "News 4 Tucson" TV posted a video yesterday of an interview with Joe Pagac about his new mural at Euclid & 1st. (My guess is that, if you're driving south on 1st, this is the place where it curves and becomes Euclid.) Here's the story:

Euclid mural brightens drive

By the way, one of the anchors called this Tucson's biggest mural. I haven't seen it yet, but, from the looks of the video, I think that Joe's mural on Stone just north of 6th Street may be bigger. (To see that mural being painted, have a look at our April 10, 2017 entry Murals being made, part 46a: Tucson's biggest — then follow along to the other pages. Or start at the end: Murals being made, part 46c: Tucson's biggest.

By the way, Google Maps doesn't seem to be able to find the exact address. It's so near Euclid & 1st that it probably doesn't matter. But David Aber pointed out that the exact address is 2136 North Euclid Avenue (click there to see it on Mapquest).

Eat at Frank's!

Frank's Restaurant (also known as Francisco's after 4 PM) serves up huge meals until 2 PM every day. Out back — on the wall west of the restaurant — you'll find a long, humble mural with "Eat at Frank's" inside three hearts:

The mural is as quirky and fun as the restaurant(s). I snapped the photos on June 3, 2017.

Maybe a mural, part 81: manhole covers?!

I think of a mural as being on a wall. (Not always. I posted a photo of a mural on the street in Dunbar/Spring.) This Arizona Daily Star article from April 26th is about Tucson sculptor Jason Butler putting art on manhole covers in the city of South Tucson:

Tucson project uses kids' vision to decorate 55 manhole covers on streets

Amazing.

San Juan

The full name is the San Juan Bautista Lutheran Church.  I found this mural on Jan. 24, 2018.  It's on the west end of a small building behind the main church.

Click for a larger and sharper image.

Tucson Weekly article: Visions of Johanna

Here's a story about Tucson muralist Johanna Martinez: Visions of Johanna: Tucson muralist preserves history's lines.

We have some photos of her murals (almost certainly not all of them) on the blog:

• More on Meyer (May 31, 2009)
• Greetings from Barrio Santa Rosa (January 26, 2015)
• Murals being made, part 29a (first of a series — from July 06, 2015 — about her Buffet Bar mural
• The Talking Mural (Murals being made, part 47a)

I'm hoping to add more of her murals. I'll add links here. If you don't follow this blog regularly, please check back.

Mural tours (and more) of Benson and Bisbee

As Tucson gets Toasty, it might be time to head for the hills! The Arizona Daily Star has a couple of articles that should help:

• A look at the amazing murals in Benson: This article also lists some indoor art, restaurants, and places to stay.
• Bisbee Murals

Fighters!

Taco Giro Mexican Grill & Seafood has four locations in Tucson.  There are several interior murals at the E. 22nd St. location.  Using the camera in my cell phone, I photographed two of them.

This is a stitch of two photos from Jan. 19, 2018

Cockfight

This photo is from Feb. 2, 2018

Emiliano Zapata, a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution. Assassinated April 10, 1919.

Click on either photo for a slideshow of larger and sharper images.
Here's a previous post of an exterior mural: On the menu at Taco Giro

Ward 1 City Council Office

In front of the office, on October 23, 2016, I snapped this photo of their mural. (Actually, it's our mural, isn't it.)

Here are the artists' signatures:

Pacman next to the border

On January 29, 2014, we published two photos along the US-Mexico border wall in Two sides on Toole. I stopped by (as I do often: The art on this building is always changing!) on November 13, 2016, to find that the dumpster wasn't painted with a UFO anymore; it had Pacman.

This isn't a word on Scrabble :)

I just checked a site with allowable words for Scrabble™ and found that XUT isn't. (Darn. After I found this door — on the always-changing art Mecca of 191-197 Toole — I'd added XUT to my secret list of Killer Scrabble Words. :)

(If you know more about XUT, please leave a comment below. You can be anonymous.)

I took the photo back on November 13, 2016.

35 Must-See Murals in Metro Phoenix

The March 6th Phoenix New Times article by Lynn Trimble has photos and info:

35 Must-See Murals in Metro Phoenix

I honestly try to avoid Phoenix when I can ;-) but I'll be there for an afternoon and a morning next month. I follow Lynn on Twitter… and there defintely is a lot of art in the Phoenix area. (Maybe I'll even decide to go back? :)