Balmy Alley, off 24th Street, is often filled with tourists from around the globe, sometimes with a guide from Precita Eyes Muralists, slowly walking through the mural-lined street and posing for photos in front of the artworks on garages and the sides of homes. Through these visits, visitors hope to understand the passions and beliefs of the neighborhood muralists who for decades have been telling stories through their art.
The alley has been a cultural centerpiece of the Mission for over five decades, but it has seen better days. Many of the murals have been fading and decaying and the wall at the entrance where Taqueria Vallarta stands is often covered in graffiti.
“This is our culture, and it’s a shame because we are not presenting ourselves as well as we could,” said Don Francisco the owner of Taqueria Vallarta.
That could change soon. Artist Tirso Gonzalez and “mural doctor” Yano Rivera have been awarded a Community Challenge Grant from the city for up to $129,294 to restore six murals — five in Balmy Alley and one in the mini-park at 24th and York streets. To do the work, they have invited back a group of the original artists to restore their own murals, among them Juana Alicia Araiza, Betsy Miller-Kusz, Irene Perez, Hector Escarramán, and Josue Rojas.
This grant establishes what project directors Gonzalez and Rivera hope will be the first of many large-scale projects to conserve and restore murals in the Mission.
“Every mural we lose, we lose our legacy and historical memory,” said Gonzalez, a Mexican artist who has been involved in San Francisco’s art scene since the 1980s.
The murals of Balmy Alley began in the 1970s when “mujeres muralistas” wanted to clean up the alleyway and painted feminist murals to show Chicana/Latina culture and prove that women could create large outdoor murals. One of the artists in this group, Irene Perez, is returning to restore a 1972 mural of hers “Coyolxauhqui has something to say,” a mural to honor the Aztec goddess of the Moon, that includes the phrases referencing to 500 years of Native American resistance and survival accompanied with the dates 1492-1992.
Over the decades, the murals in the alley have reflected different cultural moments. In the 1980s, when many Central Americans were fleeing violence in their home countries, muralists showed the wars, indigenous cultures, and resistance of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.
One of the Balmy Alley murals which will be restored is the 1966 “No One Should Obey an Unjust Law,” by Juana Alicia Araiza, a longtime Mission muralist and educator who now splits her time between Berkeley and Mexico. The mural depicts El Salvador’s Monseñor Óscar Romero, a Catholic bishop and human rights activist murdered in 1980 as he held mass at the cathedral in San Salvador.
More recently, muralists have addressed gentrification in the Mission and police violence. In 2019, Gonzalez’s daughter Lucia Ippolito painted a mural in Balmy Alley about gentrification.
Balmy Alley mural titled “Coyolxauhqui has Something to Say,” painted in 1972 by artist Irene Perez, pictured on July 6, 2026. Photo by Zoe Malen. 
Mural titled “Tierra de Amate Cielo de Amate,” painted in 1990 by artist Betsie Miller-Kusz, pictured on July 9, 2026. Photo by Zoe Malen. 
Balmy Alley mural titled “Icons of Mexican Art,” painted in 1995 by artist Hector Escarramán, pictured on July 6, 2026. Hector plans to return to restore his own mural. Photo by Zoe Malen. 
Balmy Alley mural titled “No One Should Comply with an Immoral Law,” painted in 1996 by artist Juana Alicia, pictured on July 9, 2026. This mural will be transfered to a complete different wall in the alley. Photo by Zoe Malen. 
The top of the Balmy Alley mural titled “No One Should Comply with an Immoral Law,” painted in 1996 by artist Juana Alicia, pictured on July 6, 2026. This mural will be transfered to a complete different wall in the alley. Photo by Zoe Malen. 
“New Dawn,” a Balmy Alley mural painted in 2002 by Irish artist Martin Travers and Naya Bihana, pictured on July 6, 2026. Photo by Zoe Malen. 
Balmy Alley mural titled “Enrique’s Journey,” painted in 2012 by artist Josue Rojas, pictured on July 6, 2026. Josue plans to return to restore his own mural. Photo by Zoe Malen. 
On a Balmy Alley mural titled “Enrique’s Journey” there is a painted train to represent the journey that many call “La Bestia,” meaning “The Beast.” Many children would ride alone on top of trains without their parents to get to their destination. Photo by Zoe Malen.
The Community Challenge Grant was established in 1991 through a voter initiative allowing businesses to put a portion of their gross receipts taxes into a “beautification fund.” City administrator Carmen Chu said that $3.3 million in funding went to 25 different projects this year.
Gonzalez and Rivera are in the process of getting permission from the Balmy Alley property owners, who have to approve the restoration efforts for murals painted on their homes or garage doors. They will also paint a new mural on the side of Taqueria Vallarta, a wall that has been notorious for graffiti.
Gonzalez plans to depict a rural scene of Jalisco there, with a focus on the corn god, and an homage to Mexican music bands in the Mission.
For Gonzalez and Rivera the Balmy Alley restorations are only the beginning. They hope to create a preservation team focused on restoring more decaying Mission murals in need of love and attention.
“It’s the first step. This alley and the whole neighborhood need so much more,” said Ippolito.
