Tucson's Wall Art

When we first arrived in Tucson I was so focused on watching for street signs as we were driving that I failed to appreciate the ubiquitous roadside art. Every bridge and every underpass has a unique design, such as this underpass on 22^nd Street.

Oddly for a desert city, many of the designs incorporate a water theme. Here’s part of a design along River Road, where the river bed is bone dry.

Walls also line the major thoroughfares in the newer parts of the city. Sometimes the wall pattern will be repeated on both sides of the road for several blocks. Then a new, completely different pattern appears. Some of the patterns are complex, such as this double wall.

Some walls echo the colors and shapes of the Sonoran Desert.

But others are simply walls. The wall in this photo is enhanced by blooming aloes.

The roadside walls serve a practical purpose, of course. They give visual privacy to residential districts and buffer the noise of traffic. In most cities these walls are nothing more than barriers, but here in Tucson beautiful design is highly valued both by the city and by developers.

My photos scarcely do justice to the wall art of Tucson. All the photos I’ve included here were taken while we paused at red lights. If you want to truly appreciate Tucson’s wall art you will come to see it for yourself.

Copyright 2016 by Shirley Domer