(December 27, 2002) -- Following up on a story first reported by LBReport.com quoting a City Hall Parks & Rec. press release inviting people to "experience the art of a new generation" at a January "mural collaboration and exhibit" featuring "the top 14 women graffiti artists of Southern California," we went to the site of the upcoming Jan. 11/19 event.
We brought our digital camera. The pictures below speak for themselves.
LB's MacArthur Park at Anaheim St. and Gundry Ave. in the 6th Council district is operated by the City's Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Marine. The park is home to a City of LB building occupied in part by the Mark Twain branch library and the adjacent city operated Homeland Cultural Center.
With the exception of a narrow roofline mural (details below), the main portion of the building fronting Anaheim St. is spotless and unmarked. Large parts of the rest of the building's exterior and other facilities in the park are covered with what you will see in the photos below...done with the permission and encouragement of the City of LB.
For the record, the LB City Council held its Sept. 24, 2002 meeting at this site.
MacArthur Park Recreation Center building. Portion at right fronts Anaheim Street (faces south). Portion at left faces west.
This photo and the next two show closer views of the park's Recreation Bldg. wall facing west.
The following pictures show what we saw as we walked around the building and adjoining facilities.
Restroom entrance (right)
Restroom, back wall
We're told the drawings above the entrance to the library (doorway, far right) which extend over the Recreation room fronting Anaheim St. were a collaborative work by German and Long Beach artists under a Dept. of Parks & Rec mural program.