Monday Mural: Jack London

This mural is on the back of Heinold's First and Last Chance saloon at Jack London Square, which Jack London frequently visited.  Heinold apparently let the young London study there and later lent him money for tuition to Cal Berkeley.  The original building from 1883 is still a functioning bar and a popular place to have a beer and watch the boats sailing the estuary.  A few feet away is the cabin London lived in when he went north to the Alaskan gold fields.  (An image of it is in the above mural).  London wrote about Heinold's in John Barleycorn.

This detail quotes London's belief, "The proper function of Man is to live, not to exist."  I was so happy to find this mural and get pictures before the light failed that I forgot to look for the artist's signature and the date it was executed.  My bad.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the murals posted this week.  Once you start looking, it's amazing how many you can find.

publick house

The Commonwealth pub at 28th and Telegraph is relatively new but already has a big following.  Microbreweries are more popular than ever, and their beer list represents both American and English offerings.  The joint was jumpin' during first Friday's Art Murmur.

George & Walt's

An old time bar at the top of College Avenue.

Laurel Lounge

Another cool neon sign.  I like the sputnik globe on top.  Too bad the cocktail glass doesn't light up.  Like the sign says, this is in the Laurel District in East Oakland.  Funk grooves and laughter were coming out of the bar.

Smitty's

Smitty's is an old time watering hole on Grand Avenue just east of Lake Merritt.  It has always drawn a wide age range of clients.  This is the place if you like a good game of bar shuffleboard.

 Hope to post other old neon signs over the next several weeks.

right angles

The Aloha Bar at Fruitvale Avenue and the train tracks below E. 12th St.  Yes, these really are the colors it's painted.  Their slogan is "the longest bar and coldest beer in town."  And no, I haven't been inside to verify these claims.  But there's always plenty of vehicles parked outside.