MURAL

KEEPING COMMUNITY LEGACIES ALIVE
Urban Dope, Rural Hope

Artists

Emanuel Martinez; Elfego Baca; Roberto Roybal; Carlos Sandoval; Ernie Gallegos

Year

1977

Condition Status

Destroyed

Place

Sun Valley, Denver’s West Side, Colorado. North wall of a privately-owned industrial building at W. 9th Avenue and Bryant Street along Weir Gulch, adjacent to the South Platte River. This was located across from the former Sun Valley Homes (Denver Housing Authority). Estimated GPS: (39.7352, -105.0173)un Valley,

About

The mural Urban Dope, Rural Hope measured 16 x 350 feet and stretched along the side of a building at Ninth and Bryant, facing the Sun Valley community housing development. At the center of the mural, a stylized eagle clutched the plumed serpent Quetzalcoatl in its beak. Behind the eagle, Mother Earth transformed from a maize cob into a mother embracing her child. Father Sky joyously sings to mother and child, transporting the community to a rural landscape. On the other side of the wall, the mural depicts the dangers of drugs through a syringe in the figure’s arm and the individual withering away into a skeleton, warning of the dangers of addiction, intended to steer youth on a different path.

From the Archive

Detail of Urban Dope Rural Hope, Denver, 1977. Emanuel Project Archive

Detail of Urban Dope Rural Hope, Denver, 1977. Emanuel Project Archive

Urban Dope Rural Hope mural with artists Emanuel Martinez, Elfego Baca, Roberto Roybal, Carlos Sandoval, Ernie Gallegos, Denver, 1978. Emanuel Project Archive

Artist and His Street Mural.
The Rocky Mountain News (Daily), Volume 119, Number 159 · September 28, 1977. Emanuel Project Archive

Take a Look

Community Newsletter, Spring 1980

Includes Urban Dope, Rural Hope on page 10.

Voices & Stories

Listen

Artist Emanuel Martínez reflects on creating Urban Dope, Rural Hope

Emanuel Martínez. Emanuel Project Archive

The Mural Today

Urban Dope Rural Hope, Denver, 2023. Emanuel Project Archive

Urban Dope Rural Hope, Denver, 2026. Emanuel Project Archive

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We bring together mural-making, preservation, and storytelling to keep cultural memory alive and visible for our communities now, and for the future.

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We bring together mural-making, preservation, and storytelling to keep cultural memory alive and visible for our communities now, and for the future.

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