An Ode to San Francisco Street Art

I’ve never really been crazy about street art like some other travel bloggers I know, but it was really difficult to not be impressed by the sheer amount of colorful, evocative murals scattered all around San Francisco. This city, which has been a hotbed of passionate cries for freedom and love for decades, oozes with feeling — much of it expressed through street art.

And we’re not talking your ordinary graffiti tags here, either. We’re talking real art.

Here, then, are photos of some of my favorite street art found around San Francisco:

WPA Murals

Back in the 1930s, in the height of the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) was created to help provide economic relief to American citizens who were struggling. FDR’s New Deal plan didn’t just help factory workers, however — it also helped artists through the Federal Art Project. Inspired by the revitalization of the Italian Renaissance fresco style in the ’20s and ’30s, Depression-era artists began creating art that the American public could enjoy.

Some of the best examples of this (often-controversial) WPA art can be found in San Francisco.

Rincon Annex Post Office

In 1941, Russian-born painter Anton Refregier won the WPA’s largest commission to depict the history of Northern California in San Francisco. He began painting murals in this post office near the Ferry Building on Spear Street in 1941, but had to put things on hold when WWII broke out. By the time he began again in 1945, he was lobbied by interest groups to present their version of history, and it took three years and 92 changes to make everyone happy. The 27 murals were accused of being “communist” not long after, but luckily they survived and today are protected as a National Landmark.

Coit Tower

Commissioned in 1933, the WPA mural project at Coit Tower was the result of a collaboration of twenty-six Bay Area artists. The project was supposed to present an optimistic vision of San Francisco as industrially and agriculturally productive. But, of course, the Depression had hardened everyone, including artists, and many of the frescoes here ended up being slightly less morale-boosting that originally intended.

The Mission

If you want to see REAL street art in San Francisco, you have to head down to the Mission District. Here, colorful murals abound around every corner, and almost every piece tells a story. And it’s all strong art, too — the weaker works don’t last very long. Below are some of the most popular collections of murals in this area, but there are plenty more to see, too. If you want to learn more about murals in the Mission, check out the walking tours offered by Precita Eyes.

Women’s Building

Located on 18th Street in the Mission, the Women’s Building is largely covered by The MaestraPeace Mural, which was painted in 1994 by a group of artistic women. The mural celebrates the healing power and wisdom of women, and the contributions of women throughout history.

Balmy Alley

Balmy Alley is the location of the most concentrated collection of murals in San Francisco. Located in the south central portion of the Inner Mission District between 24th Street and Garfield Square, some of the murals here date back to 1972. The original project to install murals in Balmy Alley was supposed to give voice to local Chicano/a artists to express their history of displacement and marginalization.

Clarion Alley

Perhaps some of my favorite murals can be found in Clarion Alley, also located in the Mission between Mission and Valencia and 17th and 18th streets. Inspired by Balmy Alley, the Clarion Alley Mural Project was formed in 1992, and has some of the most colorful murals I saw in all of San Francisco.

Misc.

And here are some more fun murals found in other neighborhoods around the city:

Jack Kerouac Alley (North Beach)

This alley in the North Beach (Italian) neighborhood is full of colorful pieces. The alley is squeezed in between the famous City Lights beat bookstore and the Vesuvio Cafe.

Castro

And of course, we can’t forget the always-colorful Castro neighborhood between the Mission and Haight-Ashbury districts.

I think it’s safe to say that San Francisco has turned me into a junkie — a street art junkie, that is. And I’m okay with that.

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Do YOU like to seek out local street art when you travel? Where have you found the best?