New 120-Foot Glass Artwork Just Debuted at SF’s Chinatown Muni Station

A new glass art installation is now on view at San Francisco’s Chinatown-Rose Pak Muni Station.

Created by New York-based artist Tomie Arai, the 700-square-foot piece called Arrival spans the station’s parapet façade along Stockton and Washington streets. The large-scale glass mural blends historical and contemporary imagery tied to Chinatown’s past, present, and future, including maps of early San Francisco, native and transplanted plants, and portraits of local students from nearby Gordon J. Lau Elementary.

Phase one of the installation just wrapped up, with more panels planned for the station’s platform level in early 2026. Once complete, the work will cover both the concourse and platform areas, incorporating symbols from Chinese cosmology and scenes from local and immigrant history.

Arrival is one of ten new permanent public artworks added along the Central Subway route, which connects Chinatown to SoMa, Bayview, and beyond via the T Third Line. Other pieces at the station include red metal cutouts inspired by traditional Chinese paper arts by Yumei Hou, and a large-scale tile mural by Clare Rojas.

The project was funded through the City’s 2%-for-art program, with fabrication by Moon Shadow Glass and Magnolia Editions.

The artwork is now part of the station and visible from Stockton and Washington streets.

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