Greater West Portal Neighborhood Association

The Laguna Honda Hospital Mural Project is painted on a 600 foot undulating retaining wall along Laguna Honda Blvd., across from Forest Hill Station.

The mural has been installed in three phases with support by the Laguna Honda Hospital community as well as the Midtown Terrace, Ingleside Terrace, and Miraloma Neighborhood Associations. The recent phases of the mural were funded by the District 7 Participatory Budgeting grant, which has received a record number of votes in support of the mural project. 

The mural design begins 200 feet from the corner of Laguna Honda Blvd. and Woodside Ave. On the right side of the wall, a bright sun shines light upon different generations of San Francisco natives, as they build a bridge into the future. The sun represents life, renewal, a fresh start and new beginnings. It warms the people’s faces while they create the city from a place of respect for their communities and the surrounding natural world. The bridge is wrapped in a rainbow, and the colors drape over the strong point of the bridge, and then bends to reveal a vast galaxy of stars and cells, representing how we are each connected by a shared desire to make the future a better place for everyone.

Great Blue herons connect the two worlds and fly into the sun amid a flock of house sparrows. The galaxy gives way into a deckled edge, revealing a twisting rainbow and the dawn of a new day. 

Four local people, including an elder, hold an onion native to the SF Bay area. A native Coast Live Oak tree glows in between them, leaves of energy and hope blowing in the wind. The elder stands in front of cultivated native strawberries, being planted by a diverse group of people. These strawberries morph into tiny houses which have been “planted” within the Monterey Cypress forest in a clearing, where a community has gathered together to dance and celebrate the harvest. 

A statue of Florence Nightingale appears through the trees representing Laguna Honda Hospital’s unique and critical role in San Francisco.  The leftmost side of the mural bridges the third and fourth phases with a continuation of the wild parrots flying into the future. The parrots dip in-between the arcs of a rainbow and soar above the Monterey Cypress trees among the hang gliders and a glittering blue ocean.

A new mural is being planned for Laguna Honda Hospital, starting at the corner of Woodside and Dewey Ave and extending 200 feet toward Portola Blvd.  We are seeking community input as to the design, under the broad theme, “Into the Future.”  We will be holding several online workshops in early to mid-April and would like to extend the opportunity to participate!  There will also be a community paint day in the summer, date and time TBD.  Please email deirdre@precitaeyes.org if you are interested.