New Broad & Plymouth Mural Celebrates Lakeview's Legacy, Future

New Broad & Plymouth Mural Celebrates Lakeview's Legacy, Future

An artist adds finishing touches to the mural. (Photo: Pretica Eyes Muralists)

Will Carruthers
Published on December 22, 2016

After months of delays, residents, city employees and artists gathered last Saturday to celebrate the unveiling of a mural commemorating notable Lakeview residents.

The new mural is located on the side of Lacy's Barbershop, at the corner of Broad and Plymouth streets, and depicts a range of neighborhood business owners, activists and landmarks.

The completion of the mural, conceived as part of the Office Of Economic And Workforce Development's Invest In Neighborhoods program, was delayed for months by weather and a fatal shooting on the corner that occurred while two muralists were working.

Precita Eyes Muralists designed the mural based on input from one formal community meeting, in addition to suggestions from passersby, says Max Marttila, the lead muralist.

Community members cut a ribbon during the unveiling ceremony. | Photo: Precita Eyes Muralists

According to the organization's blog, the piece is titled "Lakeview," which is residents' preferred name for the community—over the commonly used OMI (Ocean View, Merced, and Ingleside).

"Downtown, at City Hall, it may be known as Ocean View, but here, in the African-American community, [the neighborhood] is known as Lakeview," said Dr. Annette Shelton, owner of Vali of the Doll's Hair Salon on Broad Street, a former vice president of the San Francisco NAACP, and one of the community leaders depicted in the new mural.

Other Lakeview activists honored with a place in the mural include Will Reno, owner of Reno's Barber Shop (which opened in 1960 on the corner of Capitol and Broad); Michael L. Brown, the recently deceased founder of Broad Street nonprofit Inner City Youth; and neighborhood power couple Mary and Al Harris.

The left side of the mural features Lloyd Lacy, the owner of Lacy's Barbershop, cutting the hair of Mr. Furlough, the owner of Furlough's Tonsorial Parlor, the previous tenant of the building.

While many of the subjects are featured in the mural for their accomplishments, Dr. Shelton's 2-year-old great granddaughter stands in the lower left corner of the mural as a representation of "the neighborhood's future."

The mural also depicts neighborhood landmarks, including the Ocean View library branch and the Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center—two hard-fought victories for local activists.

"The bright colors of the mural makes it seem so happy," Dr. Shelton said. "It captures the best of the neighborhood and the best of the city."

A custom crosswalk also graces the corner of Broad and Plymouth. | Photo courtesy of Invest In Neighborhoods

The completion of the mural concludes a series of beautification efforts on the Broad-Randolph corridor funded by an SF Beautiful Grant administrated by the Mayor's Invest In Neighborhoods program.

Other completed projects include a traffic calming bulb-out at the intersection of Orizaba and Randolph streets, as well as custom crosswalks and planter boxes along the Broad-Randolph corridor.