Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Category: Tenderloin

  • Compton’s Cafeteria

    Compton’s Cafeteria

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    Corner of Turk and Taylor Tenderloin Funny how a plaque can stop you and educate you about something you may have known nothing about, and at the exact same time leave out so very very much of the story. If you were to hear about this event during those times you would have been told that…

  • Playground Mosaics

    Playground Mosaics

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    Father Boeddeker Park 295 Eddy The Tenderloin These little eggs sit in the playground area of the newly revitalized Father Boeddeker Park.  They were created by Laurel True of True Mosaics. Laurel has a degree from School of the Art Institute in Chicago and Parson’s School of Design of New York.  She presently is balancing…

  • Bruce Hasson’s Ark

    Bruce Hasson’s Ark

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    Father Boeddeker Park 295 Eddy Street The Tenderloin The Ark – 1985 – Bronze This piece, by Bruce Hasson, sits in Father Boeddeker Park.  The statue, as well as the park have essentially been inaccessible to everyone until the parks 2014 renovation. According to the plaque that sits with the statue “Following a 1983 trek…

  • Redding School Self Portrait

    Redding School Self Portrait

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    Boeddeker Park 295 Eddy Street The Tenderloin Redding School Self Portrait by Ruth Asawa and Children of the School The Asawa piece is a tribute to Father Alfred Boeddeker.  Boeddeker was the Franciscan priest who founded St. Anthony’s Dining Room and he is the park’s namesake. The 4- by 16.5-foot bas relief wall mural is…

  • Grasses and Wildflowers in the Tenderloin

    Grasses and Wildflowers in the Tenderloin

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    Father Boeddeker Park 259 Eddy Street The Tenderloin Father Boedekker Park has gone through a much needed and highly anticipated refurbishment.  The $9.3 million face-lift to the Tenderloins only multi-use park was long over due.  The $9.3 million renovation was made possible with a $4.93 million grant  from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, more…

  • Os Gemeos, Bode and The Warfield

    Os Gemeos, Bode and The Warfield

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    Taylor and Turk The Tenderloin This fun mural was finished in September of 2013.  It is a collaboration between Os Gemeos and Mark Bode, both whom have been in this site before. This whimsical piece sits on the back of the Warfield Theater on Market street.  The two cousins from Brazil and San Francisco artist…

  • Cosmo Cocktails

    Cosmo Cocktails

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    20 Cosmo Place Lower Nob Hill/Tenderloin   This unassuming building has been providing fine drinks, food and happiness to San Francisco’s since 1951. Trader Vic’s opened in Cosmo Alley in 1951.  The restaurant was built from an old corrugated parking garage.  Passing along the narrow walk way through a tropical garden, customers entered the rustic…

  • Wally Heider Recording Studio

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    245 Hyde Street The Tenderloin The blue building hidden behind this tree (the fourth film vault) has a prominent place in San Francisco Music history as well. In early 1969, Wally Heider opened the San Francisco Wally Heider’s Studio at 245 Hyde Street.  Heider had reportedly apprenticed as an assistant and mixer at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, CA,…

  • Film Vaults of the Tenderloin

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    245-259 Hyde Street The Tenderloin   I have driven by this area with these stunning Art Deco/Art Moderne buildings all in a row, and never pursued the history.  An evening of beers at the Brown Jug with Mark Ellinger and my eyes were opened. Originally theaters purchased the films they showed their patrons. Then Harry,…

  • The Royal Theater – Another Lost Gem

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    1529 Polk Street Nob Hill The Royal Theatre was built in 1916 and began its life as a Nickelodeon. Originally designed by the Reid Brothers for the same family that owned two other theaters in San Francisco, the Castro and the Alhambra. It was completely remodeled by Timothy Pflueger during the mid-1930’s for the Nasser…

  • Farm Girl by Aryz

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    Polk and Eddy The Tenderloin This five-story farm girl — and her bushel of apples looks over the corner of Eddy and Polk. Aryz deliberately used muted colors, especially flesh tones, to paint the lady onto this beige building. *** “I feel it’s really aggressive when you paint in a public space, so I don’t…

  • Tromp l’oeil by John Wullbrandt is gone

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    Turk and Hyde The Tenderloin This tromp l’oeil was done by John Wullbrandt  in 1983.  John is a Carpenteria, California – Hawaii based painter responsible for creating much of the artwork on the Island of Lana’i, Hawaii. He founded the Lana’i Art Program in 1989, where he engaged local talent to embellish the award-winning Lodge at…

  • Spring Valley Water Company

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    425 Mason Street Lower Nob Hill/Tenderloin This unassuming and yet intriguing little building has been sitting in my computer waiting to be written about since March of 2012.  My late husband, the architectural sculptor Michael H. Casey had driven me by to show me the wonderful detailed sculpture that covered the first floor.  I was…

  • Jo Mora’s California Bears

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    1000 Van Ness Tenderloin Flanking the doorway of the Cadillac building are two spirally-fluted columns with Ionic capitals, each topped by a bear seated on its haunches.  According to the Smithsonian, these were also done by Jo Mora. I have been unable to find any other attribution, and while they are in terra cotta, they…

  • Jo Mora and the Don Lee Cadillac Building

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    1000 Van Ness Tenderloin This sculpture sits over the entryway to the Don Lee Cadillac Showroom.    The sculpture is the creation of Jo Mora, who has been in this website before.  This doorway pediment consists of a central shield bearing the Cadillac insignia framed by an ornately carved, stylized border with a lion’s face…

  • The Don Lee Building

    The Don Lee Building

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    1000 Van Ness Avenue Tenderloin This magnificent building was built in 1921. Designed by Weeks and Day it is the largest and one of San Francisco’s most architecturally significant auto showrooms. As the private automobile became a standard commodity of middle-class American life, hundreds of manufacturers rose to meet the demand. Within this increasingly competitive…

  • A Peacock Awes the Tenderloin

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    Geary and Leavenworth The Tenderloin This phenomenal peacock is by Satyr-1, who has been in this website many times. Satyr-1 is a professional artist who has long since left the ideas of “tagging” behind for commissioned projects in defined spaces with the support of building owners.  His work made a difficult transition, but it mirrors the…

  • Sand One comes to San Francisco

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    Leavenworth and Turk The Tenderloin This mural is titled Any Man’s Land and is by Sand One.  The name seems especially appropriate to me as there was a crack deal going on as I was taking this photo.  The street corner really is Any man’s land. According to Sand One’s Facebook page, she is a…

  • Strong Roots, Healthy Tree

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    Olive and Polk The Tenderloin This mural was done in 1989.  It is titled Strong Roots, Healthy Tree and is by Johanna Poethig who intertwined images from Laotian, Vietnamese, and Cambodian cultures.  Johanna is responsible for numerous pieces of public art around San Francisco * * Since the 1970s, a growing number of Vietnamese, Laotian…

  • Old Time Fun

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    Frank Norris Street (aka as Austin) and Polk The Tenderloin Mike Shine is an artist who lives and paints in Bolinas, California. With no formal art school training, his background instead includes fine woodworking, furniture and cabinet making: skills that often appear in his artwork. He typically creates using driftwood and found objects, and many…

  • Taking Life Lying Down

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    100 Block of Hemlock The Tenderloin This Native American is by Spencer Keeton Cuningham. Cunningham is responsible for another  Native American mural in the tenderloin. Cunningham is a member of the Indigenous Arts Coalition, a Bay Area organization started in 2008 that advocates for Native American artists. Spencer Keeton Cunningham (Nez Perce) is originally from Portland,…

  • Wes Wong and the Phoenix Hotel

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    601 Eddy The Tenderloin This long series is part of the San Francisco StreetSmARTS program.  The artist is Wes Wong, he is part of the Fresh Paint Crew. Fresh Paint, a San Francisco Mural painting crew aims to defy assumptions of what is possible with a spray can. The group is comprised of and collaborates…

  • Meagan Spendlove collaborates with Cavalier Design Studio

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    1035 Post Street Back of the Building on Cedar This mural sits on Cedar Street.  It was commissioned by Cavalier Design Studio which resides at 135 Post Street in San Francisco.  The artist is Meagan Spendlove, whose work can be found all around San Francisco. Meagan Spendlove, often artistically entitled as “Siloette”currently works in San Francisco,…

  • Leaping Lizards

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    Myrtle and Larkin The Tenderloin  This piece is by Satyr.  Satyr has some other murals in the Haight. Satyr is known for his quality murals in San Francisco. He was brought up by The Master Piece Creators, one of the original aerosol art crews to bring concept walls to the city. Years into his graffiti…

  • Honoring San Francisco Vets

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    Tenderloin Shannon Alley between Geary and O’Farrell These murals were done in 2011 around Veterans Day.  They are part of the SF Vets Mural Project.  According to their website: The alley will contain murals painted by veterans which will tell their story.  The significance of this alley is that the art regarding veterans is very…

  • The Great White Way

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    My interest in the revitalization of Market Street came about when I wrote this piece for Untapped Cities about the Hibernia Bank Building. A friend who has a wonderful website about the architecture of  Mid Market and other areas of San Francisco, titled Up From The Deep, introduced me to this project, and I feel so…

  • The Beautiful Women of the Tenderloin

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    Olive and Larkin and Geary The Tenderloin This beauty (though sadly tagged) is by Melbourne-based artist & Everfresh member, RONE.  Made possible by Rogue Projects, the wall spans more than two car lengths and is located just off Larkin and Olive. Just at the end of the Olive on Larkin is this other lovely creature by RONE. This…

  • Thank You Tenderloin

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    Market and Turk Streets The Tenderloin Turk Street Side of the Building This mural, titled “Thank You Tenderloin” is a collaboration between Ricardo Richey also known as the Apexer, Neonski and Chez. Raina “Scar” Feger – a member of Living Miracle Productions * A major name in the Bay Area graffiti scene, Neonski became a…

  • Meggs in The Tenderloin

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    Myrtle Alley The Tenderloin   This piece is by Meggs. Growing up in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, David ‘Meggs’ Hooke, immersed himself in the worlds of drawing, cartoons, sci-fi films and skateboarding. In 2000, Meggs graduated from University with a Bachelor of Design and soon after became recognized for stencils and poster art on the…

  • A beautiful fairy on the side of Harrington’s Pub

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    Harry Harrington’s Pub The Tenderloin 460 Larkin Street * * This mural on Harry Harrington’s pub is a collaboration Max Ehrman who goes by the name EON75, and English artists Faunagraphic and Rocket01. Faunagraphic currently lives and works in Sheffield, South Yorkshire England, She grew up in Yorkshire, surrounded by rolling countryside in a small town…