This mural was derived from the drawings of 88 Argonne Elementary School 2nd and 3rd graders. The main focus of the mural is the Richmond District of San Francisco. Since many of the children live in the Richmond District they wanted to represent what is important to their neighborhood and school as well as the history of the Richmond and San Francisco. The center of the mural illustrates a large book with scripts of the word, ‘UNITY’ in many languages to show the diversity of the languages the students inherit. The book is like a large pop-up book with many dream like subjects fluttering out. They are all part of the Richmond district, the Mission Blue Butterfly, the Common Buckeye Butterfly, the Chinese lion dancer, and a lady on a horse from the Victorian era. The center book is the heart of the mural and leads the viewer’s eye to naturally read from the center out to the left hand side, which represents the past of San Francisco and the Richmond District. One of the pages turns into a stream of river where the Ohlone are canoeing in their Tule boat passing by the huts where they live. The era shifts to the Gold Rush where a man is panning for gold in the river next to where they camp. The river then transforms into a road with the Geary St trolley from the early century. On the left hand side of the mural there is a large Oak Tree with an Ohlone man picking acorns from the tree. Surrounding him are native animals to San Francisco and California. There is a Tule Elk, Coyote, Bald Eagle, Western Scrub Jay, Red Winged Black Bird, Raccoon and a Garter Snake. Above the Oak Tree represents the Richmond Sand dunes and Ocean Beach’s past: The original Cliff House, Play Land, and the original Sutro Baths all in ghostly sepia tone to represent its non-existence. Next to Sutro Baths is the Presidio which borders the Richmond. The Presidio Arguello Gate and a mountain Lion are also part of the area. As part of the Presidio the Golden Gate Bridge stretches from the Presidio to the Marina district in the far top right horizon. The horizon line has the bay and the ocean curving on each side to mimic the top part of the building architecture that is curved. As the mural progresses into the present from left to right, the path of the trolley turns into a broken road with the demolished tilted Victorian houses, which represent the San Francisco 1906 earthquake. The path continues into a sidewalk with Victorian houses that are still around today. Next to the houses is a restaurant, ‘The Richmond’ which is owned by a student’s family. The wall of the restaurant turns into outdoor science class representing a class at Argonne Elementary. The colorful checkered board parallels the carpet installed in one of the classrooms and on top of it are the Argonne Elementary playground structures. The circle of path continues and shows the popular landmarks and businesses of the Richmond: House of Bagels, Alexandria Theatre, Joe’s Ice Cream, St. Monica’s Church, and the statue from the Green Apple Book Store on Clement Street. One of the pages of the book turns into a road where the 38 Geary bus runs. The 38 Geary is also important because it has the longest route in the city. Above the book on the space between the path includes the vast and open green patch of the Golden Gate Park and its iconic buildings: the De Young, the Conservatory of Flowers, and the Academy of Science. Below the book is the entrance to the building and two scenes that complement each other. The left of the door shows an Ohlone woman planting a seedling. Surrounding her are native plants in rows. The California Poppy, Blue Witch Flower, Huckleberries and Ferns. To the right of the door represents the Argonne Elementary School garden with all the vegetables and plants that they grow like Kale, Peas, Tomatoes, Mint and Sunflowers. There are also two children watering a plant in the garden. The two scenes complement each other and unites the past and present. The rainbow-like arch of the two scenes imitates the architecture of the building as well. The right hand side of the mural there is an Apple Tree with Pink Lady apples (also grown at Argonne) and a Great Horned Owl. The scene behind the tree there are children painting a mural of the Golden Gate Bridge, which then turns into a real landscape of the marsh, which represents the Marshland of the Presidio. The animals are also native to San Francisco, Blue Heron, Widow Skimmer Dragonfly and Steelhead Trout. A Jack Rabbit is sitting above the drinking fountain. Above the Apple Tree is a large red tailed hawk carrying in its beak a banner with the title of the mural (“Celebrating Our Richmond—Past and Present”) soaring over the San Francisco Bay with the fog rolling in. Here are selected quotes from the students narratives. “I like the mural because it shows a lot of nature and our teachers have managed to put a lot of meaning into it. I like the fact that everybody contributed. In school we’re working on history so it’s related to what we’re learning. The design for the mural is from center out. In the center there is a book and the rest is stories coming out. Another reason I like it is it shows past as well as the present.” Nora, room 107. “Our mural is about the Richmond district. The mural makes our school better. I like it because it shows part of our neighborhood. It shows the new and old of the Richmond” by Nico, room 107. “Even though we haven’t started painting, I’m, still learning a lot. Like the history and learning to work together with people.” “We’re making a nice healthy garden so we can have fruits and veggies at school like kale which is very healthy. I think the garden is special because it makes our school more beautiful and green” Alyssa, room 107.