San Francisco’s infamous Dirt Alley has a new owner and a fresh coat of asphalt. Riley Walz, a 23-year-old tech prankster known for viral projects and recently hired by OpenAI, purchased the narrow Sunset District lot along with two collaborators for $26,000, paying $1,000 more than the previous owner spent at a city auction. The three buyers plan to transform the 83-foot-long, 7-foot-wide former carriage path into an interactive community art installation set to debut this spring.
Walz and his partners, Patrick Hultquist and Theo Bleier, acquired the property from composer JJ Hollingsworth, who accidentally purchased it last spring thinking she was bidding on a million-dollar duplex. According to the original auction listing, several red flags indicated the actual lot was the alley, including a $1 minimum bid and a block number corresponding to the narrow roadway rather than the home.
From Dirt Alley to Community Canvas
Hollingsworth initially thought Walz was “nuts” when he first contacted her about purchasing the property via mail. She had spent months attempting to rid herself of the alley after realizing the mistake, with stress from potential liabilities temporarily causing hearing loss in one ear. However, Walz and Bleier convinced her during an in-person visit by describing their vision of a community-created artwork resembling a giant quilt.
The metaphor resonated with Hollingsworth, who is a quilter herself and had recently written a concerto about an antique patchwork. After the deal closed at the end of February under the company name Analysis Paralysis LLC, the new owners paid an additional $10,000 to pave the formerly dirt surface. The transformation received immediate approval from neighbors who had never seen the path paved in decades.
Interactive Art Project Planned for Spring Launch
The project will begin with an online competition allowing San Francisco residents to participate in the design process, according to Walz. The digital creation will then be converted into large vinyl stickers to be affixed to the newly paved alley surface. The trio is keeping specific details under wraps but indicated the online phase will launch in approximately one month.
Additionally, the new owners hope the finished installation will become a neighborhood tourist attraction similar to the tiled steps leading to nearby Grandview Park. Meanwhile, the total investment in the project, including property purchase, paving, vinyl printing estimated at $5,000, and legal fees, amounts to approximately $50,000. The group believes tech industry supporters may help fund a portion of the project.
Hultquist, one of the three owners who organized the 12,000-participant Pursuit scavenger hunt in San Francisco last summer, said the alley project will be “relatively low lift” compared to previous stunts. Walz, who has created viral projects ranging from an app that identifies ambient music in the Mission to a fake steakhouse pop-up in Manhattan, emphasized the unique nature of the purchase. “This could never happen in any other city,” Walz said.
The public unveiling ceremony for the Dirt Alley art installation is scheduled for late spring or early summer, though exact dates have not been confirmed. The owners are currently finalizing details for the online design competition expected to launch within weeks.
