was constructed here in San Francisco it threatened the Mission District with bulldozer redevelopment and the gentrified displacement of its people. In 1973 the Latino community arose in response, the Mission Coalition Organization and other groups, to protest, oppose, and stop that top-down agenda for the future for their own neighborhood.
“I wanted to show that without the workers, the people of community whose work supported it, just like the concrete pillars holding up its elevated tracks, BART could never have been possible.” Erik Arguello, President of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District describes the mural’s significance to the Mission community.
The 24th Street BART Plaza Mural has officially been restored by Michael Rios, Carlos Kookie Gonzalez, Lucia Gonzalez Ippolito, and Suaro Cervantes. The restoration work on this iconic San Francisco mural, located in the Mission District, was completed during the month of August and is even more vibrant today than ever.
Rios, now 75 years old, and TODCO’s Artist In Residence and a City of San Francisco Artist Emeritus was first inspired as a young Latino artist by the great muralists of Mexico, Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros.