By Edmond Ortiz
The city plans to formally dedicate a new mural designed to celebrate San Antonio’s East Side and its people.
A public dedication ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 16 where the city’s arts and culture department will help to fully reveal a 600-foot-long mural, called “Heirlooms: East Side Pride,” on the Nolan Street railroad underpass between Cherry and Chestnut streets.
District 2 City Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez’s office secured funding in 2025 to commission a mural along the roadway wall, with support from the Inner City Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone.
The city chose Kaldric Deshon Dow, a local artist known for his large-scale collage work, following a community-driven search process to identify artists and select a design proposal.
Dow said he was already on the city’s list of local artists to consider for such a new project based on his prior art works when the project process was launched.
The city invited Dow and three other artists to submit a proposal for a mural that would reflect both the resilience and self-expression shown throughout the civil rights era, and the power of culture on San Antonio’s East Side.
Dow’s proposal prevailed, and he crafted a large-scale piece of public art named “Heirlooms” because the collaged imagery displays highlights from the 1960s and 1970s, such as fashion, hair styles, Jet and Ebony magazine covers, and events that helped to shape Black pride and identity,
“There are images of things and ideas that are passed down through generations. It’s why I titled it ‘Heirlooms’,” Dow said.
For about one month this fall, pedestrians and motorists passing by the Nolan Street underpass could often see Dow working on the mural, which also features the names of East Side roads, such as Houston, Commerce, Pecan Valley and Burnet, all of which have proven historically significant to community members through the decades.
“People pass by and see something like Pine Street and will tell me, ‘Oh, I remember living on Pine Street.’ Including the street names here was important,” Dow said.
The large collages also contains images of past notable local figures such as Myra Hemmings, who was an educator in San Antonio and active in the local theater scene. She also founded the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
Another figure showcased in the mural is the late Rev. Raymond A. Callies, who organized what became San Antonio’s first Martin Luther King Jr. march shortly after the King’s assassination in 1968. Local civic leaders also remember Callies for founding scholarships and other tributes to King, and for having organized activities that evolved into San Antonio’s annual DreamWeek program, which now covers much of January.
Individuals displayed in the Dow’s mural are also interspersed with natural elements, such as air, water and the earth. The idea, Dow said, is to show how people are connected with each other, nature and their heritage.
Additionally, there are repeating patterns intertwined across the mural, adding to the aesthetic vibrancy of the public art work, Dow said.
Dow said he is thrilled to be picked to create a large piece of public art, which will be dedicated during local DreamWeek celebrations and a few days before the city’s annual MLK march.
“The coolest part about public art is that it’s for the community,” Dow said. “I think it’s something that people will embrace.”
Dow invited community members to visit “Heirlooms: East Side Pride” more than once.
“There are so many things to see here, so many little things in the mural, that you’d need to come by it again and you’ll see something new and different to you,” Dow added.
McKee-Rodriguez expressed excitement for Dow’s mural on his official Facebook page on Jan. 6.
“I’m in awe of (Dow) and his creativity, talent and eye. Thank you for creating this inspiring, larger than life artwork and bringing it to its forever home in District 2,” he added.
