Glen Park BART Utility Boxes
Title: Untitled
Artist: Vanessa Shive
Date completed: June 2025
Site: Glen Park BART station, two publicly owned utility boxes at (1) the intersection of Bosworth Street and Diamond Street, and (2) the intersection of Monterey Boulevard and Diamond Street
Subject: Art Nouveau-era stained glass-inspired owl and butterfly
Funding source(s): Civic Joy Fund
Overview
Glen Park Beautiful noticed that dozens of forest-green (and often graffitied) utility boxes across San Francisco had been artist-painted. Passersby were greeted by works ranging from abstract compositions to images of children floating on swings, and various animals. The two utility boxes by the Glen Park BART station were the perfect candidates for a similar transformation.
Artwork
Glen Park Beautiful learned of artist Vanessa Shive from her work for the Association of the Ramaytush Ohlone. Her talent was evident and her playful style and Matisse-like palette were a perfect fit to achieve the dual goals of brightening the utility boxes and bringing delight.
The two boxes, one at the corner of Bosworth and Diamond and the other at Diamond and Monterey Boulevard, feature the same lively color palette. For the Bosworth-facing box, Vanessa translated her knowledge about the great horned owls that frequent Glen Canyon Park, and created a colorful creature seemingly set inside a stained-glass frame in Art Nouveau style. The Monterey Boulevard-facing box is wrapped in a giant butterfly and seen by hundreds of drivers daily, when turning onto Diamond Street to enter Glen Park.
Timeline
April 2025: City approval
May 2025: Input to design
June 2025: Both boxes completed
