Ingleside Gets Its Own Vibrant Postcard-Style Mural

A new mural has arrived on a long-drab block of Ingleside’s Ocean Avenue.

The mural, located next to the Valero gas station at Jules Avenue, was created by San Francisco-based artist and former Ingleside resident Rhonel Roberts and depicts his cherished memory of living in the neighborhood.

The vintage postcard-style mural highlights a portion of Ingleside’s residential hillside going downhill, filled with vibrant-colored mid-century modern homes. In addition to its radiant color palette, it shows turquoise and white rays and the word “Ingleside” to help draw the viewer’s eyes to the center.

“I just want people to know that they’re seen,” Roberts said. “They matter. They’re recognized and they can be celebrated.”

The mural was funded as part of the Civic Joy Fund’s Adopt-A-Block project, which is investing $100,000 into four blocks around the city to provide physical improvements.

“It’s possibly the beginning of Ingleside being able to create greater density of our art and our beauty and individual landmarks in physical items that celebrate the beauty of our neighborhood,” said Caleb Hilladakis, the fund’s special project assistant.

This project is also a part of several other beautification projects to the neighborhood with help from the fund over the last year including string light installations and the recent “Ingleside Landmarks” mural on the side of Walgreens.

The Ocean Avenue Association was consulted on this project for design input, the association’s Small Business and Marketing Manager Rosendo Betancourt said.

The Civic Joy Fund also partnered with Mark Bonsignore, owner of Urban + Environmental Design, who said the cost for the mural was $12,000.

“It’s a safe neighborhood but that gas station and that [dim] light doesn’t really give off inviting vibes so what we did was add brightness,” Bonsignore said.

The design was printed by Mass Factor Media, a graphic printing and installation business in Oakland, on Avery Dennison Graphic Solutions' hi-tack MPI 1106 cast vinyl and was sealed with lamination for protection from the elements.

Due to time, Roberts and Mass Factor Media owner Mark LeTang opted to apply the mural using vinyl rather than hand painting it. Roberts and LeTang spent two days fitting the 10-panel mural to the shiplap-textured wall.

“I hope people talk about it,” LeTang said. “I hope people really credit the artist. San Francisco, right now, really needs a lot of attention. They really need art. They really need creatives to get us through this period of time.”