The Great Wall of Los Angeles

 I must have driven by the Great Wall of LA thousands of times in my life.  It's a 2500 long mural painted on the walls of the Tujunga Wash on Coldwater Canyon Blvd., just south of Oxnard St.  I went past it twice a day on my way to work at Monlux Elementary School, for 20 years and never knew of it.  Boy, was I missing something.

Thanks to my friend Barbara, who is planning a trip to Los Angeles in April, I now know about it.  She loves to research interesting places to visit in the cities she visits, and she discovered The Great Wall.

The money for the project came from SPARC, the Social Public Art Resource Center.  Founded by Judy Baca, who also created the idea for the mural, it is SPARC's signature piece.  Judy Baca designed the project, and with the help of over 400 community artists, it was completed between 1974-1979.  It's a landmark pictorial representation of the history of the ethnic peoples of California from prehistoric times to the 1950's.  I was impressed.

There are bike paths and walking trails, but with some money it could become a parklike area extraordinaire.  It needs some TLC, but it is certainly something to see.  Plans are in the works for more panels to represent the 1960's and 1970's.  If you get a chance, go see it.  Take your grandchildren.  They will enjoy it and learn a lot.