Officially titled The Duboce Bikeway Mural: Gateway to the Wiggle, this 400' long piece of public…read moreart celebrates the fever dream of a safer San Francisco, illustrating the path to a safer city, protecting cyclists & pedestrians from the mean streets of San Francisco. Thank you to Safeway for donating their back wall, facing the entrance to the MUNI tunnel & U.S. Mint beyond. Props to fiscal sponsor SF Bicycle Coalition & the political powers that be.

Almost everyone I've ever asked about this mural doesn't like it, but I've always enjoyed it…read more I don't remember when it was, but the first time I saw this thing after emerging from the Market Street tunnel, I was very surprised. And since the N-Judah stops and starts quite a lot at that point, I was sitting there in that hard red plastic seat, eager to see how the "story" would "end." I got such a big kick out of it. Since then, I've ridden dozens, probably hundreds of N-Judahs past this mural, and I still like it. My favorite parts are the bird standing on the sand and how the snake turns into a tire track--or vice versa. I was saddened when Muni stopped using the old black bus shelters, because it meant that this mural, which has one of those bus shelters near the corner--right near the street corner it depicts--would officially become anachronistic. But as I said, I've ridden by this mural hundreds of times, and you know what? Besides the specific color scheme of the Duboce Street houses and said bus shelter, nothing else in this entire mural gives away when it was painted. Sure, the boots and socks on the cyclist look vaguely late-'90s, but artist Mona Caron went to great lengths to make the people's appearances as generic as possible so that they wouldn't look dated. Brava! I also think the skunk is cute, but then I find real-life skunks cute too. I've spent so much time around them at Costanoa that I'm no longer automatically afraid of them.

I believe Mayor Dan Lurie's intention behind his daily Instagram feed is to encourage residents to…read moreget excited about what's new and/or relatively undiscovered in the city. It's working for me because I would've never known about this mural otherwise. In a city full of arresting public art, this one takes advantage of the retaining wall stairs at the end of Burnside Ave and artistically traces the history of Glen Park spotlighting neighborhood heroes and icons. The main facing wall depicts the evolving flora and fauna of the adjacent Glen Park Canyon. The Twin Walls Mural Company is responsible for the colorful mural, and the tile stairway reflects the uniquely stellar work of Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher, the team responsible for the photogenically definitive SF stairway, the 16th Avenue Steps (review: https://yelp.to/sf6kW9Yg5_). The mural is only a year old, so take Dan's advice and go see it. RELATED - Exploring the Outer Mission? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/TKWsqhWbq0

Reclaiming Islais Creek is a beautiful mural with two main parts. Flowing from the top of the…read morestaircase like water, in a blue hue, is an engaging painting showcasing the history and people of Glen Park, the neighborhood in which this art piece is located. The other portion of the mural, along the wall at the bottom of the steps, portrays lovely colorful scenes in nature, representative of the land, with meaning behind individual creatures and plants shown in the artwork, such as the hummingbirds symbolizing the energy and spirit of the Glen Park community. The mosaic-tiled staircase, featuring legacy tiles, is a just as impressive element of this exhibit as a whole, and just recently opened last month (October 2024). Two flip charts are available on site, hanging from the staircase railing, one containing pictures and labels to help visitors identify the wildlife depicted in the mural, the other one sharing interesting details about the wonderful history of Glen Park and its residents, as shown through the art, including SF's first Americans, the Muwekma Ohlone, the first march for women's suffrage in America, Mission Zoo, railways, and noteworthy businesses. Great little read to learn about what you are seeing here. Also, street parking was free and easy right in front on a Sunday afternoon.

this mural is at the backside of a PG & E Substation. it's alongside the railroad tracks on…read moreEmbarcadero West turfin' is an Oakland-based dance from the 1990's. it alledgedly derives from "Taking up Room on the floor". the dance comes from many turfs...incorporates concepts of tutting, flexing, waving & animation. the mural shows 3 parts of turfin' creator: Creative shields aka Lower Bottoms Collective (incl. Timonthy B) -part of Oakland Mural Festival 2018

Lovely San Francisco Cable Car Mural. Art overlooks California Street cable car line. Less…read moretraveled. Free parking in Nob Hill and meter parking in Chinatown. See below for more info: Lovely San Francisco cable car mural: The Cable Car Mural is a lovely addition to the art of San Francisco. Art overlooks California Street cable car line: Located in the Pratt Place Alley, The Cable Car Mural overlooks the California Street cable car line. You get a mural and a cable car. Talk about a double win :) Less traveled: While so close to the famous Nob Hill and Powell cable car photo op, The Cable Car Mural is less traveled. Hence, you get a more unique version of SF many overlook as it is in an alley. Free parking in Nob Hill and meter parking in Chinatown: There is free, two hour parking in Nob Hill and meter parking in Chinatown. There are a lot of towing zones in the evening in this area, so make sure to double check where you park as parking enforcement ticketing is back.

San Francisco is known for it's beautiful and unique murals. The cable cars are also part of this…read moregreat city. So why not mix them together? This specific mural is of the California cable car. beautifully painted and is hidden away on Pratt PL. Don't know how to get there? Take the California cable car to Stockton St. and walk west half a block.

This mural on the side of a residential building highlights several themes/attractions once…read moreassociated with Oaktown aka Oakland. Tribune Tower/Oakland downtown Oakland Athletics (baseball) Exotic Fish chasing each other in a circle. Smiling blue tiger White clouds in blue skies Creators: @333Arts, @Mariott, @MrHanstyles, Gaij, A

About Kenny Alley Stairs: Kenny Alley is a public passage…read moreand stariway in the heart of Excelsior District's commercial corridor. In 2015 the friends of Kenny Alley organization was formed by neighbors who wished to see the space rehabilitated and beautified. The waterscape mural was designed by local artist and teacher Matt Christensen. The waterfall and Kenny Alley Gateway mosaics were designed by artist and teacher Kim Jensen and fabricated by students of City Arts and Tech high school and countless neighborhood volunteers. The project was made possible by Community Challenge Grant, SF Public Works, SF Parks Alliance, Excelsior Collaborative, Excelsior Action Group and the many individual donors, artists and volunteers. I happen to see this stairs/alleyway while we went to grab take out nearby, it was pretty nice to see this. I loved seeing the nice and blue decorations on the stairs. We walked up to see what is up there, took some photos, and went back down. Beware there was a person sleeping on the stairs and there was a mess/ lots of rubbish, empty alcohol bottles. Hate to see the mess in such a nice area where everyone put such in so much time & love in to this project. There are CD disc hanging, made place so shiny. Enjoyed looking at the garden & painting before at alley before going up to the stairs. Great, cool, and quick spot to check out, only if you're in the area or even to take a short cut to the neighborhood via the stairs.

What's the frequency, Kenny? Gee, I was beginning to think Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher had the…read morecorner on all the mosaic tile staircases in the city. The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps are their handiwork and so are the nearby Hidden Garden Steps and the Lincoln Park Steps. However, it's Kim Jensen who was responsible for this semi-hidden passage between Mission and London Streets in the Excelsior. Completed in late 2016, the blue and reflective silver tiles covering the 47 steps are designed to replicate a waterfall. There are nature murals and rows of cacti on the surrounding fences to supplement the bucolic feeling the creators wanted to evoke. The one challenge is upkeep as a roaming homeless population appears to make themselves home on the available benches periodically. Art is where you find it, I guess. RELATED - Exploring the Outer Mission? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/37B1acE

This statue will make no sense to most people. That's fine. It's kind of weird and freakish and…read moredisturbing as a standalone menace on Haight Street. But if you rode the 6 and 7 buses back in the day, you remember spying the original piece of art nearby called Silly Pink Bunny. It had all the weirdness of Bronze Bunny, except it was pink and, thus, way more menacing. It reminded me and lots of people of the weird imaginary/real character from Donnie Darko, which, fun fact, was filmed partially at my high school. Fast-forward to 2013. They're going ahead with plans to turn the old UC Extension building into housing. Great. But Silly Pink Bunny apparently had to go to make way for construction. Knowing this, and seeing that it disappeared soon thereafter, yet its artistic niche remained, I believed and started spreading the neighborhood rumor that someone had stolen Silly Pink Bunny in order to save it from destruction, à la one of those Bob's Big Boy statues from further back in the day. And what do you know? Silly Pink Bunny actually had a funeral. It was demolished in this big ceremony that included music. I wish I had been there. Or maybe I don't. I'm a little bit sad that thieves didn't steal Silly Pink Bunny. I was kind of hoping it would be found in some warehouse somewhere. Bronze Bunny is great. Like I said, without all the history, it's a fine piece of art in its own right. But it pales in comparison to what it commemorates. Plus it's not in the exact location of its predecessor. I'm so glad they allowed it to be installed here.

The Bronze Bunny Sculpture is one of the 7 wonders of the Lower Haight. You might know the artist,…read moreJeremy Fish, from the Koi Fish beautifying sidewalks throughout the city. I'm not sure how or why, but he created The locally famous Silly Pink Bunny on the corner of Haight & Laguna. It was eventually torn down, and plans immediately started to create a more sturdy, pest-proof permanent sculpture at 215 Haight, where the Haight Street Art Center is. Over $70,000 was raised via crowdfunding & the Bronze Bunny was unveiled April 29, 2017 to a large crowd of jubilant supporters. Afterwards, Jeremy signed posters at Fifty 24, the line snaking around the block. Not going to find this on tourist maps- so impress your friends with your insider's knowledge.

On the corner side of a commercial building is a mural celebrating surfin' big waves in the bay by…read morethe Bay Bridge. Celebrates include rockets in the air, solar panels on rooftops, skateboarders, the bay area hills sunbathin', classic car showin' in a garage. Creator: name illegible