Art, Social Space and Public Discourse

Jack London Improvement District Mural

The Buswell Block, 318-334 Broadway

In collaboration with the City of Oakland

2016

Artists: GhalamDAR and Mike “BAM” Tyau

The wall was a collaboration between Artist-in-Residence GhalamDAR and Bay Area based artist Mike “BAM” Tyau along with help from Stanford University students enrolled in Ala Ebtekar’s course on Public Art.

The project was in partnership with City of Oakland’s Jack London Improvement District, whose Mission is to create, promote and maintain an inviting environment for people who visit, live or work in the Jack London District. Through programs focused on beautification, safety and promotion, and fostering economic vitality and quality-of-life in Jack London community.

Site details:

The Buswell Block, 318-334 Broadway 

Historic Home of the Buswell Paint Company 

Built between 1861-1869

These three 1860s buildings were joined and modernized in the 1880’s to revitalize lower Broadway after business was drawn north to the new railroad line on Seventh Street. This is a remarkable survival of Oakland’s earliest business district here in Jack London. And just across the street is the oldest Builiding that stands in Oakland.

(Excerpt from An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area, Susan Dinkelspiel Cerny)

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