50 years ago The Bay Area mass transit system transformed San Francisco into a corporate and finance headquarters of the Pacific, generating enormous wealth for the elite. But as it 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. This revolutionary energy ignited a new era of Mission Latino community art, culture, and community building - the Mission Renaissance - still embodied in organizations like the Mission Cultural Center and Health Center, and the surviving murals today throughout the neighborhood. The landmark 24th Street Station BART Plaza mural “BART” painted at the community’s crossroads by Michael Rios with Anthony Machado and Richard Montez in 1975 following that seminal year of BART’s birth, powerfully depicts the crushing load of the elite BART vision on the shoulders of the Mezo-American peoples de La Misión.
“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 BART Mural illuminates the indomitable spirit of our people, capturing our unwavering determination and the pivotal role we play within the entire San Francisco Bay Area. The mural depicts the struggle and resilience of our workers and our community as a testament to our unwavering strength and perseverance.”
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. The restoration is the result of a collaborative endeavor, sponsored by Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, orchestrated by the skilled artisans at Precita Eyes Muralists, and generously funded through a $140,000 grant from TODCO Group. Together, these collective efforts united behind Michael Rios to bring new life to the BART Plaza Mural.
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. In 1974 he brought the vision for the Mission neighborhood’s new BART station plaza to San Francisco Arts Commission President Ray Taliaferro, and with logistical support from the Commission and a $7,500 grant from the National Endowment For The Arts, Michael and his two colleagues completed the work. Rios, an early founder of the renowned San Francisco Latino muralist movement, has created murals throughout the Mission District over the last 50 years.
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