DISCOVERING COLORFUL PUBLIC ART ON THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, Guest Post by Karen Minkowski

Mural in Balmy Alley, San Francisco, CA

I thank my friend Karen Minkowski, a frequent contributor to The Intrepid Tourist, for her report on some of the amazing public art in the neighborhood where she is currently staying in San Francisco. 

Balmy Alley mural

I’m spending a few months in San Francisco, while I wait for winter to end and Omicron to recede. Each day I wander the streets, enjoying the different ways in which residents create art for the public. Murals, especially in the Mission District, are among the most common displays, covering the walls of commercial establishments, apartment buildings and even the fronts of some single family homes.  

Balmy Alley mural and plants

The Mission's well-known murals of Balmy Alley, located in a lively Latino neighborhood with taquerias and street vendors, are especially beautiful.

Pride Mural. Marching across Golden Gate Bridge

This mural near the Castro District, a historically gay neighborhood and center of LGBTQ activism, celebrates Pride and Love on the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. 

Crosswalk, Castro District, San Francisco

A rainbow pedestrian crossing in the Castro adds unexpected beauty to an intersection.

San Francisco, 22nd Street

Walking in San Francisco involves climbing up and down its many hills. I’ve often climbed this block, on 22^nd Street in the Noe District, listed as one of the ten steepest in the city (the stairs help!).

Wooden bench, Noe District

After climbing 22^nd Street I head straight for this lovely chair, just two blocks away, to rest a few minutes. Sculpted from one piece of timber, the seat was placed by a thoughtful resident at the edge of the sidewalk, nestled into a hedge and presumably to be enjoyed by passersby like me

Sidewalk art--framed mosaic of natural materials.

A framed mosaic of lichen and other plant material complements the sidewalk plantings around it.

Sidewalk mandala of flower petals around a tree trunk.

I overheard that this beautiful mandala was assembled from the petals of old flowers from a florist’s shop.

Tiger peeking through the jungle, Church Street.

And one of my favorites, a jungly scene painted on the front wall of a home in a beautiful, but otherwise unadorned block in Noe Valley.

Mural, Balmy Alley

With my car in storage, it would take many more months to explore on foot more distant San Francisco neighborhoods, but I’m sure there is more beauty throughout this lovely city. With Omicron receding it’s approaching that time to move on.

For more about the Balmy Alley murals, click HERE. The Balmy Alley murals are among the more than 1000 murals in San Francisco. For a sample of some of the other fascinating public art in the city, click HERE.