Matthew
02-15-2008, 10:23 AM
Highway 50 motorists soon may be able to reflect on history and art as they wait for traffic lights to turn green in Placerville.
The City Council last week endorsed a project by the El Dorado Arts Council, El Dorado High School art students and a local artist to create a mural on a concrete retaining wall at the northeast corner of Highway 50 and Canal Street. The local Arts Council has submitted a grant application to the California Arts Council's "Artists in Schools Program" seeking funds for the project.
The mural, designed by graphic artist and muralist Warren Dayton, will depict Placerville's place along the Pony Express route and as the western terminus of the first trans-Sierra telegraph.
The mural will feature a Pony Express rider, and behind him, a crew stringing telegraph lines.
"This is a feel-good project," Community Development Director Steve Calfee said. "If they are successful in getting the grant, it might spur interest in more murals."
Calfee noted that the council approved the project in concept a few years ago, with the provision that the mural depict appropriate community history, that it not advertise, and that residents of the Canal Street and Bee Street neighborhood have an opportunity to review the final design.
Col. Frederick Bee, an attorney, organized the Placerville-St. Joseph Overland Telegraph Co. in 1854 and built the line eastward to Carson City, Nev.
Bee's home, known historically as the Bee-Bennett House, currently is occupied by Sequoia Restaurant.
"I think we have a strong opportunity to get funding to bring public art to Placerville," said Debra Jensen, the El Dorado Arts Council's executive director.
The mural will be more than just a pretty painting, she said, explaining that it also is an important project for El Dorado High art students.
Councilman Mark Acuna said the mural would help acquaint residents and tourists with little-known aspects of Placerville's history.
"I didn't realize that the first trans-Sierra telegraph was anchored at that end of town," he said.
The City Council agreed to allocate $1,000 in promotional funds to pay for special paint or a graffiti-resistant coating to protect the mural.
Jensen said the Placerville Downtown Association also has committed $1,000 to the project.
She said the Arts Council expects to know by June whether it will receive the state grant. If the project is funded, Jensen said work on the mural would begin in October and be completed by the end of December.
Acuna said the mural would complement the state Department of Transportation's improvements to Highway 50 through the city. It would be nice, he said, "to see that end of town reborn after two years of construction."
The City Council last week endorsed a project by the El Dorado Arts Council, El Dorado High School art students and a local artist to create a mural on a concrete retaining wall at the northeast corner of Highway 50 and Canal Street. The local Arts Council has submitted a grant application to the California Arts Council's "Artists in Schools Program" seeking funds for the project.
The mural, designed by graphic artist and muralist Warren Dayton, will depict Placerville's place along the Pony Express route and as the western terminus of the first trans-Sierra telegraph.
The mural will feature a Pony Express rider, and behind him, a crew stringing telegraph lines.
"This is a feel-good project," Community Development Director Steve Calfee said. "If they are successful in getting the grant, it might spur interest in more murals."
Calfee noted that the council approved the project in concept a few years ago, with the provision that the mural depict appropriate community history, that it not advertise, and that residents of the Canal Street and Bee Street neighborhood have an opportunity to review the final design.
Col. Frederick Bee, an attorney, organized the Placerville-St. Joseph Overland Telegraph Co. in 1854 and built the line eastward to Carson City, Nev.
Bee's home, known historically as the Bee-Bennett House, currently is occupied by Sequoia Restaurant.
"I think we have a strong opportunity to get funding to bring public art to Placerville," said Debra Jensen, the El Dorado Arts Council's executive director.
The mural will be more than just a pretty painting, she said, explaining that it also is an important project for El Dorado High art students.
Councilman Mark Acuna said the mural would help acquaint residents and tourists with little-known aspects of Placerville's history.
"I didn't realize that the first trans-Sierra telegraph was anchored at that end of town," he said.
The City Council agreed to allocate $1,000 in promotional funds to pay for special paint or a graffiti-resistant coating to protect the mural.
Jensen said the Placerville Downtown Association also has committed $1,000 to the project.
She said the Arts Council expects to know by June whether it will receive the state grant. If the project is funded, Jensen said work on the mural would begin in October and be completed by the end of December.
Acuna said the mural would complement the state Department of Transportation's improvements to Highway 50 through the city. It would be nice, he said, "to see that end of town reborn after two years of construction."