THE FREAK ALLEY GALLERY IN BOISE, IDAHO: A STREET ART WALK, Guest Post by Caroline Hatton at The Intrepid Tourist

One of the Freak Alley Gallery murals in downtown Boise, Idaho

My friend Caroline Hatton, a children’s writer and frequent contributor to this blog, enjoyed taking the photos in this post in October 2022.

Mural on the back of the West Elm store, Boise, Idaho

While traveling by car through Boise, Idaho, my husband and I jumped at the chance to see the FreakAlley Gallery, a collection of diverse outdoor murals painted by many artists over twenty years, so far. The gallery is in the alley that goes from 8th to 9th Street through the city block between Idaho and Bannock Streets in downtown Boise.

Nine artists painted these. See the Twinkie and cockroach holding hands--the only nuclear apocalypse survivors?

At 8:30 a.m. on a sunny October Friday, the streets were still in the deep shade of buildings, car traffic was light (compared to L.A. traffic… maybe traffic is incomparably lighter most everywhere else?), and only a few pedestrians walked along the sidewalks carrying cardboard cups from coffee shops. Finding a parking spot at a meter was not difficult.

Buildings’ side walls = space for more paintings.

I like blues and black and white.

Freak Alley was covered with more paintings than I expected, not only on the back walls of buildings, but also on side walls and doors and doorways. I looked for interesting photos to take or works I liked, feeling a bit overwhelmed by how much there was to see.

My favorite: cats in kimonos.

Most of the artworks were big and loud and weird, with few exceptions such as the cats in Japanese kimonos inside one doorway. You can see more photos at the above link, including by clicking on the down-arrow on that web page, then on 2019. The Freak Alley Gallery is a testament to the ongoing community support that makes it possible.

Some filming in progress.

I was glad I visited before 9 a.m. on an October Friday, when the trash containers smells had barely begun to develop in the mid-50s F (~13 C) temperature. We were alone in the alley except for two delivery truck drivers unloading restaurant supplies, and a cameraman on a hoverboard filming his subject.

Before the parking meter expired, we strolled around the Capitol and past the City Hall, and sipped lattes on a coffee shop patio on one of the two pedestrian blocks lined with restaurants, closed at that time, as were gift shops and art galleries. Then we drove a few blocks to the Basque Block a charming cluster of Basque buildings and businesses with a community center.

From left: explorer and merchant ship; farmhouse; fragment of Picasso’s Guernica; historic tree, buildings, dance teacher, accordion player; Boise cathedral; weightlifting contestant; sheep camp

At the Basque Market shop and eatery, we admired cheeses and sausages, and chatted with the chef who was cooking the Friday seafood and chorizo paella on the outdoor patio. Some other time, we might visit the Basque Museum to learn how some 16,000 Basques ended up living in Boise now. This time, I just took a photo of the very well done Basque Mural.

 Downtown Boise seemed like a safe, clean, and interesting place for a walk.

 All text and photos, copyright Caroline Arnold. www.theintrepidtourist.blogspot.com

  

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.