Mural Plural

One of the things I loved about living in San Francisco in the 1980s was the history that was hidden around every corner. Part of that history that I remember very well was the murals that appeared outside so many of the financial institutions around the city.

These were murals of history: huge splashes of color depicting people, places and things that were part of the tapestry of California history.

I used to love turning a corner and seeing a giant mural above the doors of a saving and loan, or adorning the building's sides. I never gave much more thought to them over all these years -- until today, when I learned of the death of the man responsible for constructing many of them.

Denis O'Conner did more than 80 such murals around California (like the one pictured), providing a distinction that is so sadly missing in buildings today.

You can read more about O'Conner's life and work here.

The gentleman who designed many of the murals that O'Conner made is profiled here.