For the past few years, people passing through North Beach via Columbus Avenue were greeted by a dreamy mural of Carol Doda. Rendered in soft pastels by artist Natalie Gabriel, Doda’s face graced an exterior wall of the wine bar Bodega. The mural honored the woman who shimmied her way to international fame as a topless dancer at North Beach’s Condor Club in the 1960s and ’70s. The mural quickly became a beloved local landmark.
So Gabriel, a former North Beach resident who now lives in Sonoma, was stunned when she recently learned her tribute to Doda, which Bodega’s owners Lalo Luevano and Paria Sedigh had commissioned, had been painted over. She got the news from a friend that the mural was gone.
“I was heartbroken and shocked,” Gabriel told 48 Hills. “Of course, my ego and personal attachment to the mural played into that. But at the end of the day, I’m a public artist. I paint murals on the streets, and my art—and the work of all public artists—is at the disposal of the public. Nothing lasts forever.”
It’s true that murals fall prey to taggers, the sun’s bleaching rays, and the whims of building owners every day. But the loss of the Doda mural has hit North Beach hard. Gabriel’s heard from a number of folks, some with personal ties to the performer, upset that a tribute to an important woman in the history of both the neighborhood and the city had been erased.
“It was a shame to see the mural painted over, and not only because Nat is a brilliant artist,” said Aldea Sullivan, a North Beach resident who works at Beacon, a coffeehouse across the street from Bodega. “The Carol mural was a stunning reminder of our not-so-distant North Beach history. Amongst the constantly homogenizing storefronts, she gave us an opportunity for story-telling and reminiscing. I’d much rather tell visitors about topless dancing and 20th century beauty standards than stare at another boring black wall.”
The wall likely won’t remain colorless for long, though. Luevano told 48hills that he and Sedigh always envisioned it as a rotating platform to showcase the work of different local artists.
“We’re really proud of Natalie and all the conversation the Carol Doda mural sparked,” he said in a phone call. “It turned out to be a big success.”
It wasn’t just her status as a legendary stripper than made Doda special. In her obituary in the Chronicle in 2015, former Mayor Willy Brown called the multi-talented artist “bright, beautiful, creative, and outrageous.” The late columnist Herb Caen agreed—Doda had been a regular character in his column. Dick Winn, who performed showtunes with Doda in her later years, called his friend one of the fastest comedians he’d ever worked with. He praised her for being a “wonderfully caring person who listened to you and gave good advice.”
Long-time North Beach resident and tour guide Blandina Farley also has fond memories of Doda. She described her friend as a feisty survivor and a kind, humble person. The two used to sing together at various clubs.
“Carol was an icon, but she didn’t see herself that way,” said Farley. “She just loved to entertain, clothes on or clothes off.”
As upset as Gabriel was when she first heard about her mural’s fate, she’s not one to wallow in self-pity or hold a grudge. Instead, she’s working with the community to find another wall for a new mural of Doda.
“It won’t be the exact same one, because you can never go back, it will never be the same,” Gabriel explained. “But it will have the same feeling. It will be even bigger and better—that’s how I like to frame things. I have another sketch that I actually think is stronger than the one we landed on for the original mural.”
With help from her friend Anastasia Thanash—her father was a co-owner of the Condor, where her mother stripped—Gabriel has set up a Gofundme to raise $13,000 to cover the costs of creating the new mural. (She specifies that the amount needed to complete the project will depend on the size of the wall and how much repair work it needs.)
Starting over also gives the artist a chance to find a more prominent home for Doda. The old mural was on the outskirts of North Beach, amd Gabriel hopes to bring this one to life in a location that’s closer to the heart of the neighborhood. She’s already found a couple of contenders, including a large parking lot wall on Broadway near the Condor.
“A piece of history was painted over, but the community has the power to bring a new mural to the people who value that history, know the neighborhood, and want to see beauty on every corner of North Beach,” Gabriel said. “That’s what’s most important to me.”
