My family moved to Corona in 1978. We traveled into the Inland Empire from the Los Angeles area often, and I watched the creation of the mural along the 91 Freeway during those trips years before we made Corona our home. I graduated from Corona High School in 1984, and because of the mural, the 1976 class was still revered as being one of the best Senior Classes in recent memory. As a political junkie, and a Reagan supporter, the mural meant a lot to me. It was a fantastic sign of patriotism for the area, reminding motorists along the 91 Freeway and the 71 Highway that American Freedom still lives.
I can still remember the Bicentennial celebration on July 4, 1976. I was ten, and my family visited an aunt and uncle in Irvine for the fun. Back then, we had to negotiate through a myriad of orange groves to get to their house (Corona was also home to many orange groves, at the time). It was a cul-de-sac, and a busy one this particular Independence Day. 200 Years since the Declaration of Independence. What a wonderful time to be alive. Memories of the fireworks, the sparklers, still dance in my head.
A hearing on Wednesday Morning, August 19, 2015 regarding the fate of the Prado Dam Mural near Corona, a mural that once read “200 Years of Freedom: 1776-1976,” resulted in a decision that the fate of the mural should once again be kicked down the road.
Members of the Corona High School Class of 1976 painted the Mural, but as the mural has faded, and has fallen victim to graffiti, other concerns have also emerged. The lead paint, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, poses a danger, and the mural must be destroyed. Removal was set to begin in mid-June of 2015, and mere days before the removal was to start, a group established to save the mural secured a temporary restraining order from a federal judge in Riverside on the grounds that removal of the mural violates the federal Visual Artists Rights Act, which outlaws the destruction of an artist's work without providing fair notice. The Mural Conservancy group also agreed that they would work to bring back the work, repainting it.
The Army Corps of Engineers still argues that the lead paint is a problem, making the mural a major environmental hazard, and on top of that, they argue that the mural has become an eyesore, tagged with graffiti. Those trying to save the mural say it can be saved, and it should be since in ten years, upon the mural’s 50th Anniversary, it would become historical, and that alone should be reason enough to keep the mural, and repaint it. Learn more about the effort to save the mural at Prado Dam: www.friendsofthepradodammural.com
Members of the Corona High School Class of 1976 painted the Mural, but as the mural has faded, and has fallen victim to graffiti, other concerns have also emerged. The lead paint, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, poses a danger, and the mural must be destroyed. Removal was set to begin in mid-June of 2015, and mere days before the removal was to start, a group established to save the mural secured a temporary restraining order from a federal judge in Riverside on the grounds that removal of the mural violates the federal Visual Artists Rights Act, which outlaws the destruction of an artist's work without providing fair notice. The Mural Conservancy group also agreed that they would work to bring back the work, repainting it.
The Army Corps of Engineers still argues that the lead paint is a problem, making the mural a major environmental hazard, and on top of that, they argue that the mural has become an eyesore, tagged with graffiti. Those trying to save the mural say it can be saved, and it should be since in ten years, upon the mural’s 50th Anniversary, it would become historical, and that alone should be reason enough to keep the mural, and repaint it. Learn more about the effort to save the mural at Prado Dam: www.friendsofthepradodammural.com
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
1 comment:
Thank you for your article Douglas! Here's some more info on the lead, the white paint that is the majority of the mural, like the blue is a non lead based paint. The Red is a low level lead based paint. But there are many ways to mitigate this. In reality a house built in Corona in the 40's or 50's has more lead paint than the mural! But here's the real question. If it was really about the lead, then why haven't they simply offered a repaint of the Bicentennial Mural. Why a 2 year fight???? Are there competing interests, for the 300,000 cars that daily pass the mural?
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