Balmy Alley

What you need to know

Balmy Alley is a one-block residential alley in the Mission, running between 24th and 25th Streets, parallel to Harrison and Treat. Nearly every garage door, fence, and rear wall is painted with murals. The tradition began with murals by Mia Gonzalez and neighborhood children in 1972 and was carried forward in the mid-1970s by Patricia Rodriguez and Graciela Carrillo of the Mujeres Muralistas collective.

In 1984, muralist Ray Patlan organized a group of artists to cover the alley’s surfaces with murals addressing two themes: indigenous Central American cultural heritage and protest against US intervention in Central America. Twenty-seven murals were completed in the summer of 1985. The alley has been continuously repainted and added to ever since.

What to See

Roughly 30 murals are present at any given time. Some have been preserved since the 1980s; others are replaced or repainted as conditions and artists change. Subjects include immigration, gentrification, Day of the Dead, neighborhood histories, and portraits of community members. Several walls memorialize specific people from the Mission.

The alley is short enough to walk in five minutes, but reading the murals carefully takes longer.

Clarion Alley, the other concentration of Mission District murals, is about six blocks north between 17th and 18th Streets.

Visiting

Address: Balmy Alley, between 24th and 25th Streets in the Mission

Hours: Open 24 hours. Daylight is better for seeing the murals.

Cost: Free.

Best time: Mid-morning to mid-afternoon. The alley runs roughly north-south, so light is even most of the day.

Notes: Balmy Alley is a residential street with active driveways. Keep voices down and avoid blocking entrances. Precita Eyes Muralists, founded in 1977 and based at 2981 24th Street, runs guided mural walks of Balmy Alley and other Mission mural sites.

Getting There

From the 24th Street Mission BART station, walk east on 24th Street about three blocks to Harrison, then continue one block to Balmy. The 48 Quintara/24th Street bus stops at 24th and Harrison, half a block from the alley. The 12 Folsom/Pacific runs on Folsom, one block east of Balmy. Street parking on 24th Street is metered and limited; side streets south of 25th are sometimes easier.