MOVING DIEGO RIVERA’S "PAN AMERICAN UNITY" MURAL - AGAIN!
In early 2024 we wrapped up the return of Diego Rivera's monumental 60,000-pound "Pan American Unity" mural from SFMOMA to San Francisco's City College (CCSF). You may recall in 2021 we moved Rivera's mural from CCSF to SFMOMA. Both moves were extraordinary undertakings that showcased our team's expertise and collaborative work with engineers, scientists, and conservators from SFMOMA, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and Kiernan Graves of Site & Studio Conservation.
Atthowe’s rigging team meticulously removed the mural panels and encased them in protective travel frames to reduce vibration and jolting. Each panel was then craned out of SFMOMA onto trucks and slowly driven across SF over a series of early weekend mornings. The panels were carefully placed back into storage at CCSF.
We're proud to have been a part of this remarkable multi-year journey. Stay tuned for part three when the murals will be moved once again into their final home at CCSF's newly constructed performing arts theater named the Diego Rivera Theater, planned to open in 2027.
Photo credits Matt Shain
Behind the Scenes: Documenting the Historic Move
Watch a 24 minute documentary about the first time we moved the Diego Rivera mural in 2021. Witness firsthand the precision and collaboration required to move Rivera’s 60,000-pound masterwork from City College of San Francisco to SFMOMA.
Video credits: NBC Bay Area, sponsored by SFMOMA, 2021
Cover image credit: Four panels of Diego Rivera’s ‘Pan American Unity’ mural in the Roberts Family Gallery at SFMOMA. Image by Katherine Du Tiel, SFMOMA
Time-Lapse Magic: Installing Rivera's Masterpiece
Explore the captivating process of reassembling Diego Rivera's "Pan American Unity" mural through this stop-motion video, captured in 2021 by Don Ross of SFMOMA.