At 211 W. Cutting Blvd., at the sprawling Allen Brothers Steak and Seafood warehouse, four artists are spending their days transforming 210 feet of a blank white wall into a sweeping mural honoring Richmond’s waterfront, workers and history.ย
The cityโs oldest residents, the Ohlone, paddle tule boats fishing for Chinook salmon alongside the silhouette of the iconic Ferry Point Pier. Rosies from the Kaiser shipyards hunch over machinery, sparks flying. Hikers traverse the Wildcat Canyon Trail beneath a view of the San Francisco skyline visible from the old port. A local angler holds up his catch.
At right, a smaller wall pays tribute to the Japanese greenhouses that flourished in Richmond in the first part of the 20th century. Roses and carnations, two staple flowers grown by Japanese-American families, bloom as members of the Sakai and Oishi families cut stems.
On the other side of this wall, the artists have painted an image of Bienvenida Meza, a present day North Richmond resident who has worked for two decades at the Verde Elementary School Garden teaching youths about urban farming. An image portrays Meza in gardening gear, holding a colorful bouquet bursting with orange marigolds, red carnations and bright pink poppies.
Behind the project is Hungry Ghost Productions, an Oakland-based public arts and mural collective led by Alameda resident David Burke.
โWe were really honored to be chosen for the project,โ Burke told Richmondside. โWe wanted this to be kind of a love letter to the city of Richmond.โ
Burke and his team, comprised of local artists Pancho Pescador, Pablo Ruiz and Joevic Yeban, take a divide and conquer approach to their work.
โWe all just kind of choose the areas that weโre most excited about painting,โ Burke said.
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“We wanted this to be kind of a love letter to the city of Richmond.โ
โ Artist David Burke
For him, it has been a detailed black-and-white depiction of National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin, who until her retirement in 2022 was the oldest serving ranger in the country. Soskin worked at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II National Historical Park in Richmond educating visitors about the often-overlooked contributions of African American women to the war effort. She retired at age 100 and died last December.
โWe were really hoping to pay a tribute to her while she was still alive,โ Burke said. โNow it’s kind of a memorial.โ
City public art program is funding the project
The mural is one of the latest works commissioned through Richmond’s public art program, which requires public and private developments in the city to contribute toward a fund that pays artists to create works.
Since 1997, Richmond has set aside 1.5% of the funds for City Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) with budgets that are over $300,000 for the acquisition of public art. In 2021, the city expanded those requirements to certain private developments, including new commercial and industrial structures, large housing complexes, and major renovation projects. Required by the Percent for Art Ordinance, developers must contribute 1% of their building costs toward public art.
They can do this in one of three ways: commissioning on-site publicly accessible artwork; creating a designated public space for arts or cultural programming; or paying the 1% to the cityโs public art fund.
According to Jordon Nesbitt, staff liaison for the Richmond Arts and Culture Commission, the Allen Brothers left the design of the warehouse mural up to the city.
โThey said, โHere’s the 1% fund and go ahead, solicit artwork and letโs see what you come up with,โ Nesbitt told Richmondside.
Each year, Richmondโs Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC) identifies potential sites for public art in the city. According to the site map, there have been 33 murals created in Richmond as part of the Public Art Program. For the 105,000-square-foot Prologis-owned building in Point Richmond, which Allen Brothers Steak and Seafood Company, a division of the restaurant food supply company Chef’s Warehouse, moved into in 2023, they envisioned a mural decorating the buildingโs south-facing wall and mosaic tabletops enlivening an outdoor seating area for staff.
Richmondโs Arts and Culture manager at the time, Winifred Day, sent out a request for artwork proposals in December of 2023, asking for a mural design that โcelebrates the history and culture of Richmond, including cultural diversity, nature, sailing and water-related activities.โ According to Burke, about 50 muralists applied before the city narrowed it down to three finalists.
Hungry Ghost Productionsโ plan for the wall was extensive, with hyper-realistic images of Richmond historical figures accompanied by silhouettes of landmarks such as the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and modern fishing boats bathed in orange sunlight.
โI always want our murals to trigger your imagination,โ Burke said. โYou see things that maybe youโre familiar with โฆ presented in a different way. In a sort of magical way.โ
In October 2025, Day passed away. Burke says the mural will be dedicated to her memory.
In all, the project is expected to be finished this month. It includes a large mural, 160-by-40 feet, and a smaller L-shaped mural approximately 50-feet, flanking eight mosaic tabletops designed by Oakland-based artist Deborah Koppman.
Burke, who has spent three decades painting murals in the Bay Area, said he hopes Richmond residents recognize parts of themselves in the artwork.
โWhen we work in communities, I want them to see themselves reflected in the work,โ he said. โAnd so thereโs a lot of history of Richmond in this piece. There are these little moments in the mural that are tied to the city. Thatโs really important to us.โ
