Photos: The 'concrete testimonies' scrawled on San Francisco sidewalks

"For those passing through quickly, the scrawls on the sidewalks of San Francisco are just more noise in the city's clutter. But for the people living here, they are messages - warnings, memorials, jokes, confessions - written into the concrete itself. Even if they're painted or power-washed away, the words don't stay gone. By night, they return - names of the dead, insults, prayers, dope jokes. The phrase "dead inside," sprayed in blue or black, marks corners and curbs like a recurring chorus."

"Chalk tributes fill the cracks of the sidewalk: "RIP Chris. We love you." The streets of the Tenderloin are dotted with these small memorials. Chalk doesn't last long against footsteps, hoses, or rain. But, for a few days, they stand as proof that someone was loved, that someone mattered. They are grief carried out in public, where everyone can see."

Scrawls on San Francisco sidewalks function as visible records: warnings, memorials, jokes, confessions, insults, prayers, and names of the dead. Chalk tributes in the Tenderloin declare grief for days despite weather and cleanup, serving as public proof that someone mattered. Other notes express intimate longing or frustration, sometimes accompanied by everyday objects that suggest personal testimony. Some signs voice exhaustion and indignity, like a waterlogged cardboard plea about hunger and shame. Playful or petty markings appear alongside somber messages, mixing pop culture and street slang. Together these fragments create an unofficial, evolving public record of local life and loss.

Read at Mission Local