Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Tag: San Francisco

  • Mission Cultures Mosaics

    The Mission District Start on Hoff and 16th cross the Street and continue on Julian  Woodward Gardens *  * Gold Rush Low Riders  Immigration  Asian Influence  Carnival These panels were done in 2001 by students participating in the St. John’s Educational Thresholds, Panel Project as part of the Urban Artworks program. They represent various parts…

  • I Can Cheezburger’s Invisible Bike

    Chinatown End of Quincy Street  Josh Zubkoff’s Invisible Bike This was taken right after the piece was finished in 2008 This is the image the mural originated from.  It is from Ben Hu’s blog I can Cheezburger Josh graduated in 2003 from UC Santa Barbara, with a B.A. in Studio Art.  He is presently a system…

  • Gigantes in the Mission

    The Mission District San Carlos and 19th  * All of us are equal Some of us grow up to be Giants… * This mural is by Precita Eyes.  This is the description of the mural from their website: The “Gigantes” mural project can be read in three concepts; History, Community, and the Future. It features…

  • San Francisco’s Wave Organ

    Yacht Road Marina Green * The View towards the wave organ from Marina Green Looking back towards downtown and Fort Mason from the Wave Organ The Golden Gate Bridge from the Wave Organ Palace of Fine Arts and the San Francisco Yacht Club, view from the Wave Organ The Wave Organ is an exhibit of…

  • San Francisco’s Holocaust Memorial

    Land’s End Legion of Honor Holocaust Memorial by George Segal Time has taken its’ toll on this memorial.  The hand on the man above was not to touch the wire as they were electrified.  *  * This memorial shows ten figures sprawled, recalling post-war photographs of the camps.  Placement of this work was controversial.  The…

  • Mural Projects in the Tenderloin

    The Tenderloin 126 Hyde Street  This group was shot on May 6, 2012 * * True Compassion by Evan Bissell This temporary mural was created through twelve workshops with local artists about the nature of compassion. The double portraits depict the artists interacting with themselves in a compassionate gesture of their choosing. The portraits will…

  • Qi Lun in Little Saigon, San Francisco

    Little Saigon The Tenderloin Qi Lun by Walter Wong – Marble and Granite 2008 These dragons mark the entrance to a two-block corridor of Larkin Street between Eddy and O’Farrell officially declared Little Saigon in 2004. There are about 250 Vietnamese American-owned businesses in the Tenderloin and eighty percent of the businesses on the two…

  • Miguel Hidalgo in Mission Dolores Park

     Mission Dolores Park The Mission Miguel Hidalgo – Liberator of Mexico 1810 On the back in the marble is carved: Monument Presented by The Mexican Colony To the City of San Francisco September 16th, 1962 Below it is a brass plaque that reads Miguel Hidalgo Y Costilla Father of Mexican Independence 1753-1811 The liberation of…

  • Liberty Bell of Mission Dolores Park

    Mission Dolores Park The Mission * *                                                                                   The plaque reads: Mexico’s Liberty Bell (A…

  • California Volunteers Memorial on Market Street

    Market Street at Dolores Mission/Castro * * * California Volunteers by Douglas Tilden – Bronze on a granite base Dedicated August 12, 1906 Erected by the Citizens of San Francisco In Honor Of The California Volunteers Spanish American War 1898 First to The Front At the end of the Spanish-American War, when the troops returned,…

  • 16th and Mission Bart Station

    The Mission 16th and Mission * * * * * * *  Palaza del Colibri by Victor Mario Zaballa 2003 Lawrence Berk – Metal Fabricator Colibri are hummingbirds. They are a medium to large species found in Mexico, and Central and northern South America. 16th Street Mission Station is a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)…

  • Joan of Arc at the Palace of the Legion of Honor

    Lands End Legion of Honor * * Joan of Arc by Anna Huntington Joan of Arc, nicknamed “The Maid of Orléans” is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred…

  • Roald Amundsen at the Beach Chalet

    Land’s End Beach Chalet 1000 The Great Highway * This memorial sits in the parking lot of the Beach Chalet, it has been there since 1930. It marks where Amundsen’s ship, the Gjoa (pronounced “Joe”) was in dry-dock. It had been pulled ashore here in 1909, and placed on dry-dock display. Amundsen donated the ship…

  • Beach Chalet Murals Part III

    Land’s End The Beach Chalet – Part III 1000 The Great Highway Lucien Labaudt’s Beach Chalet murals: John McLaren (G.G. Park Superintendent) in left foreground on bench, with Jack Spring (later General Manager of Parks and Rec Dept.) holding redwood tree’s root ball, while behind on horseback (upper right corner) sit sculptor Benny Bufano and…

  • Beach Chalet Murals – Part II

    Land’s End The Beach Chalet Part II 1000 The Great Highway * * It was common for WPA muralists to place people they knew or people of note in their work.  Here Lucien Labaudt inserts Arthur Brown Jr.. Brown was the Architect of City Hall (shown over his left shoulder) and architect of Coit Tower,…

  • Beach Chalet Murals

    Land’s End The Beach Chalet – Part I 1000 Great Highway The Beach Chalet has its own fascinating history. This is however, about the WPA work found at the Beach Chalet.    Port Scene by Lucien Labaut -Beach Chalet Murals Fisherman’s Wharf A peaceful beach scene that incorporates some of Labaudt’s friends and family.  …

  • Ian Ross – SOMA

    SOMA 870 Harrison Juxtaposed with Zio Zieglers black and white mural at 870 Harrison street is this vibrant mural by Ian Ross.   paints energy. In front of an audience on stage, in his lush backyard studio, or in the warehouse at Facebook HQ, his work is alive. Ross works “without the burden of intention”…

  • Benny Bufano at Fisherman’s Wharf

    Fisherman’s Wharf Beach and Taylor Streets * St. Francis of Assisi by Benny Bufano Born, Beniamino Bufano, in San Fele, Italy, in 1886, he was one of sixteen children. His family immigrated to New York when he was three, and at six he began contributing to the family income by shining shoes and peddling newspapers.…

  • Washington Square – Fireman’s Memorial

    North Beach Washington Square  Firemen Memorial by Haig Patigian *  To Commemorate the Volunteer Fire Department of San Francisco 1819-1866 Erected 1933 By Bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit. This sculpture by Haig Patigian  was erected with funds left by Lillie Hitchcock Coit, an honorary member of Knickerbocker Volunteer Fire Company No. 5, and was originally meant…

  • Lands End – Kanrin Maru Monument

    Land’s End Legion of Honor  * The plaque at this reads:  This monument is erected to commemorate the arrival of the first Japanese Naval Ship Kanrin Maru in San Francisco on 17 March, 1860. The Kanrin Maru crossed the Pacific at the same time as the U.S.S. Powhatan which brought the first Japanese Embassy to the…

  • Land’s End – Great Nature

    Land’s End Legion of Honor The stone reads:  We are grateful, as we stand facing this monument, for the infinite gifts of heaven and earth.  We recognize once again the true fundamental of the human should that pursues the truth, implements the good, creates beauty, and renews his will to step forward.  This way brings…

  • Financial District- Fire Station #13

    Fire Station #13 Financial District 530 Sansome Street * Untitled by Henri Marie-Rose 1969 Henri Marie-Rose (1922-2010) born in François, Martinique, the son of Appien Constance Raymonde and Quentin Joseph Marie-Rose Dite Cétoute, Henri Marie-Rose Dite Cétoute, who later simply went by Henri Marie-Rose, was a San Francisco resident for 58 years, living initially in…

  • Western Addition – Athletics at Hamilton Rec Center

    Western Addition Steiner and Post Streets Hamilton Rec Center Athletics by Mary Erkenbrack – Ceramic Tile 1955 This glazed ceramic tile mural is of male figures engaged in athletic activities. This tile mural sits between two painted murals names Blues Evolution I and Blues Evolution II . This tile mural has been on the walls…

  • Western Addition – Northern Police Station

    Western Addition Turk and Fillmore Streets Northern Police Station * * * This cast concrete panel by Horace Washington depicts the cultural diversity of the Western Addition and its architectural history. The panel also features the likeness of police officers of the past. The piece is part of the San Francisco Arts Commission collection and…

  • SOMA – Few and Far

    SOMA/The Mission 69 Duboce Between Valencia and Mission Few and Far – Part III  * The last of this three part post from Few and Far is by Amanda Lynn.  Amandalynn, whos pieces are all over town, takes her expertise in art and painting into an array of applications. She studied at the Academy of…

  • SOMA – Few and Far

    SOMA/The Mission 69 Duboce Between Valencia and Mission Continuing with the Few N Far Crews work at 69 Duboce.  Meagan Spendlove – Meagan has murals all over town. Agana is from Oakland. From Few and Far’s Website:  Agana is not only a bad ass DJ but she is an art teacher, muralist, jewelry maker, loving/giving…

  • SOMA – Few and Far

    SOMA/The Mission 69 Duboce Between Valencia and Mission This is an empty lot that was taken over (with permission) by Few and Far. Few and Far is a woman’s street art group and this is what they say about themselves on their blog: Few and Far is a movement that brings together talented women who…

  • Mission District – Carnaval

    Mission District 18th and Harrison P.G.& E. Service Yard * * * * * * * Carnaval by Joshua Sarantitis – 1995 33 X 100 feet Joshua, a Minnesota resident, is a truly prolific muralist. Joshua Sarantitis  has been creating monumental professional work in public spaces for over 20 years. His 40 commissioned works include glass…

  • Marina Green – William C. Ralston Memorial

    The Marina Green Near the end of Fillmore Street * * * Memorial to William C. Ralston by Haig Patigian  1941 William C. Ralston made his fortune in Nevada’s Silver Comstock Lode.  He was one of the richest and most powerful men in California, founding the Bank of California and building the Palace Hotel.  In…

  • Telegraph Hill – Coit Tower Murals

    Telegraph Hill Coit Tower WPA Murals * * * This pair of canvas’ are also in the elevator alcove.  The depict the farmlands of the Santa Clara Valley and the hills of the East Bay. The artists was Rinaldo Cuneo. (1877-1939).  Cuneo was a native San Franciscan from North Beach where he maintained a studio.…