The San Francisco City Guides is an organisation that runs "free" guided
tours around the city (a donation is requested). We joined two tours to see murals in the Mission District and Coit Tower.
The Mission District has a large Hispanic population and the murals reflect many of the beliefs and politics of the
community.
Balmy Alley is well-known for its murals. Nearly every wall, fence and garage is painted and the murals are
constantly changing.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is the one of the latest additions, just painted last year. The lady is usually
depicted with arms folded and eyes down. For this mural the artist wanted to depict her watching over the community,
welcoming and embracing its people.
A Tribute to Women Artists is just near the corner of the alley. The owners used to have problems with
people urinating on the wall to the right of this mural, even though a light is installed above. However, they have
had no more problems since a mural of the Virgin Mary was painted on the wall.
The muralists also found a unique way of including the gas meter in the picture.
A memorial to the assassinated Salvadoran archbishop, Oscar Romero.
Many murals painted in the 1980s reflected the conflict in El Salvador.
Another mural reflecting the conflict in the South American countries.
Although these women are shopping they are carrying guns in their right hands. In the doorway there is a shadowy
figure of a soldier.
We Remember was painted by children, aged 7-17 years, who were all HIV positive
Indigineous Eyes of War and Peace was painted by two artists. The first artist painted a mural across
the walls and door of the garage. The door then had to be replaced and the first artist was no longer in the area.
The second artist painted the eyes on the door blending in with the original artwork and theme.
The left wall shows the effects of war : the fear of the woman, the man heading off to war. The soldier he becomes
is reflected in the left eye.
The right wall shows the rewards of peace and reflected in the right eye is a white dove.
These are three of the more unusual murals in the Mission District.
The top mural is at on the corner of Balmy Alley and 24th Street. It uses plywood shapes that are based on
American Indian drawings.
The mural in the middle is the only black and white mural in Balmy Alley.
The mural at the bottom is just off 24th Street. It was designed with a computer then printed out and stuck on the
wall.
St Peter's Church on 24th Street has murals above the gate, on the wall of the church and around the church
entrance.
Our tour ended in a small square set up as a children's playground. The murals in the playground were based around
children and their activities.
We saw so many wonderful and colourful murals that day it was hard to decide which ones to put on our web site. So
here is a sample of the rest.
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