Amazing SF Murals

When we get ready to go to a new city, be it in the US or overseas, we always check out some guidebooks, look at information on-line, ask friends for recommendations.  It's our nature to try and know a little bit about what we want to see and do before we land in the new place.  Why don't we do that same thing for places we already live in?  True, the more time we spend in one familiar place the more easy it is to simply travel the same routes, go to the same couple of restaurants, walk down the same trails.  But maybe it's time to leave your comfort zone behind.

Raise your hands out there in virtual land:  how many of you have actually walked the streets of the Mission District in SF?  Hmmm, I don't see a lot of hands up in the air.  I realize that many readers of this blog (if there are any at all) don't live in SF but I'll bet you a Bacon Maple Apple Doughnut from Dynamo Doughnuts (yep, in the Mission) that if you journeyed into that edgy neighborhood, just gave yourself two hours one sunny day and walked some streets, you would be shaking your head at what you've missed all these years.

Today was a beautiful sunny day.  As I took the dogs out early this morning I encountered the garbage truck guys on their route and they enthusiastically commented on the weather at 7:15 a.m.  "Hey, whats with this sun? Is this really Daly City?  Man, about time, doncha think?"  Good start to a day.  A nice dog walk, back for a great cup of java (Gabe and Annie use amazing coffee beans) and a bit later I got a call from my friend Tom saying "yes" to a walk-about in the Mission, and so the game was on.

A couple of hours later Tom and I got a map of the murals in the Mission and started walking.  And not only were we in the heart of the Mission, we were in major mural territory.  Almost every block off of 24th Street has a huge mural, mostly on the street corners, different styles and colors but a common thread of freedom, peace, new world, happiness, struggle, every theme a repressed group might express.  We spent almost two hours in one neighborhood of about 8 blocks, checking our map, finding the murals and marveling at them.

This is actually a tile mural, in a playground.

And this is another tile sculpture in the playground, of a dragon, kids can climb on it and there is a little girl hanging out on the dragon's tongue.  Mural behind, a simple one.

This is Balmy Street, an alley off of 24th Street where there are many murals, one shown below.

This is a very small mural, the size of a large garage door. Most of the murals we saw were too big to photograph, two or three stories high,  but you can see some of them at this link or simply google SF murals:  http://www.precitaeyes.org/murals.html

We saw more than 20 murals in the area of 24th Street between Harrison and Potrero, some big, some huge, some small.  It's quite the Latino and Mexican neighborhood, great shops, food, music.  Thursday, on Cinco de Mayo, it will no doubt be incredibly lively and a huge street party. As it was, both Tom and I said almost simultaneously "I could live here."

From there we went to the Women's Building on 18th Street, between Valencia and Guerrero, where the mural is three stories tall and wraps around the building.  The mural has dozens of women's faces integrated into the painting and every face has a story and is a painting of an actual, real person.  We had a guide to the mural, telling us who was who and why.  The stories ranged from Georgia O'Keefe, artist, to women who simply fought for freedom in their own way.  Awesome and inspiring.  Check it out here:  http://www.womensbuilding.org/content/index.php/about-us/the-maestrapeace-mural

We wandered around that neighborhood, 18th Street, near Dolores Park, saw many more murals.  The day was hot and sunny and people were out.  Being in the city, a world class city that we sometimes forget to investigate, was full of surprises.  Go see the murals, or at least wander around some of the ethnic neighborhoods and enjoy the difference.  Eat a burrito or a steamed pork bun or have a bowl of pho.  Get out and walk down different streets and look in different windows.  You might be surprised, and you might like it! 

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