"There, on the southern facade of 1240 Valencia St. between 23rd and 24th streets, the artists have created a collage of ever-changing images referencing everything from the sex scandal in the Catholic Church to the massacre of 43 students in Mexico, gentrification and more recently Palestine, President Donald Trump, and Tesla boycotts. The wall got its start when the artist and architect Bruce Tomb purchased the former police station at auction in 1998 for $560,000 and turned it into his home and studio."
"Tomb embraced the graffiti on the wall rather than fighting to keep it off. The latter, he said, had "more work than I could do." Soon, it became a destination for artists like Shepard Fairey, JR, Patrick Piazza, Favianna Rodriguez, SF Print Collective and Jon-Paul Bail. No one expected their work to endure for long, and its every-changing facade was part of its charm."
San Francisco's graffiti abatement crew painted over the Art Wall on the former Mission District police station at 1240 Valencia St., a site that hosted hundreds of artists and amateurs for more than 20 years. The wall featured rotating collages referencing events and movements from the Catholic Church scandal and the massacre of 43 Mexican students to gentrification, Palestine, Donald Trump, and Tesla boycotts. Bruce Tomb purchased the building in 1998, lived and worked there, and welcomed graffiti. The Mission Neighborhood Center bought the property in 2019, enrolled in the city graffiti abatement program in 2024 after citations, and reports Public Works abated the wall despite authorization only for another portion and lacking written directives to prevent painting. Tomb expressed confidence the wall will recover.
Read at Mission Local
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