Anonymous downtown mural celebrates SF-Oakland bond

Right on the side of the Denny’s restaurant at 816 Mission, on the corner of Jessie Street, the anonymous, East Coast-based street artist Believe In People is in the midst of a new masterpiece.

BiP, originally of New Haven, Connecticut but of late popping up coast to coast, posted a few images of his latest creation on Instagram last week, before the rain interrupted the process.

Fans on Reddit posted links to more recent photographs, revealing details—including the central figure’s deeply awesome “415-510” anchor tattoo on her shoulder, presumably an expression of the abiding bond between San Francisco and Oakland communities.

The finished work will be five-stories tall, part of a promised “mega-mural series.”

“For residents in the area, you may not know me yet. I hope to win you over,” BiP wrote when announcing the new project.

The nameless artist began crafting guerrilla-style portraits in the dead of night in New England around 2010. Intentionally anonymous, he (the artist is always referred to as “he,” anonymity notwithstanding) simply signed the works “Believe In People,” which shortly became “BiP” to fans.

This is BiP’s second San Francisco piece, after his seven-story tall Self-Consuming Dave in the Tenderloin in 2015.

And passersby surely noticed his Oakland work last year:

Unlike in his New Haven days, BiP secured permission for those pieces. The artist thanked Westfield Centre for “generosity and support” on social media, but the building owners have not yet responded to our requests for comment.

Suffice to say, it’s the best thing to happen at Denny’s in quite some time—possibly ever.

• Believe In People [Instagram]
• Mural in progress [Imgur]
• BiP Strikes Again [New Haven Independent]
• BiP Unveils Seven-Story Mural [Hoodline]