Call Box Canvas
Transforming San Francisco's defunct emergency call boxes into vibrant works of public art — at no cost to the city.
Swipe to See the Transformation ↔️
Forgive the AI generated image, we're still looking for artists and permission to do this!
Because They're Too Cool to Ignore
San Francisco's iconic red (or blue) emergency call boxes were once cutting edge technology, but most of them would not work in an emergency today. They are broken and expensive to maintain.
They still look pretty cool though, right?
We're safely decommissioning 2,000 aging boxes to transform them into vibrant canvases for public art — at no cost to the city.
How We're Doing It:
- Crowdsourcing box locations from the public
- Collecting artist applications to apply mini-murals to boxes
- Measuring community interest to prioritize installations
- Securing approval from the city (🤞)
- Building partnerships to fund stipends and collect donations
Get Involved
For Community Members
Help us identify and prioritize call boxes in your neighborhood. Your nominations and votes guide our efforts to transform these historical fixtures into beautiful community art.
View MapFor Artists
Transform these historic structures into your canvas. We provide stipends, materials, and community support to help bring your artistic vision to life in public spaces.
Apply NowJoin Our Mission
Together, we can transform San Francisco's forgotten call boxes into a vibrant, distributed art gallery.