San Francisco Golden Gate Park Roller Skating Mural

The 28-foot by 93-foot oval mural, painted over asphalt and located between Sixth Avenue and John F. Kennedy Drive, in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park was created by Bay Area artist and longtime park skater Aimee (Bruckner) Stevland. Utilizing a vibrant color palette of yellow, orange, red, teal, and purple asphalt acrylic paint, the design—titled Psychedelic Golden Gate Skate—pays tribute to the park’s roller skating history, referencing the Golden Gate Bridge and featuring a roller skate in the center circle.

Aerial photo of the finished mural. A minimalist design of the Golden Gate Bridge, multi colored waves, with a roller skate icon in the center.
Photo: San Francisco Rec & Park

Years ago, roller skating provided an important creative outlet for me at a time in my life when focal dystonia, a neuromuscular movement disorder nearly ended my design career. So, I’m very grateful for this opportunity to celebrate San Francisco roller skaters’ past, present, and future through art, so that their vibrant colors and lively spirits remain even after they all go home each night.

Photo of the artist, Aimee Stevland standing and smiling near the finished roller skate icon,
Photo: Jim Watkins / San Francisco Rec & Park

Design Considerations

  • Design: Celebration of San Francisco and its roller skating community. Limited design complexity and color palette.
  • Safety: Durable, smooth surface area, visual awareness, and spatial orientation for skaters to maintain proper balance.
  • Application & Maintenance: The Asphalt acrylic sport coating system comes in limited colors, and does not support intricate designs. However, it allows for easier maintenance and retouching to create a long lasting, weather resistant surface that skaters can enjoy for years to come.

Special thanks to Andrew Lawrence as well as Jose and Antonio from Saviano Co. who were truly my hands out there on the ground. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to make this vision a reality.

Photo of 4 people. The artist posing with the team who helped apply the mural on the ground.
The Dream Team. Photo: Jim Watkins / San Francisco Rec & Park

Behind the Scenes:

Watch how the color is applied to the asphalt to keep the ground smooth for roller skaters.
Applying the final roller skating icon to the center of the mural.

Related Press:

e, "Skatin' Place gets a blast of color."