Tustin’s Purple Wall: Color It Soon Gone

The color purple had a short run in Tustin. And to lots of folks, that’s just peachy.

On Wednesday, the Irvine Co. will begin repainting the purple perimeter wall and identifying sign at the Tustin Market Place shopping center.

Instead of their current glorious --some would say glaring--violet hue, the wall and sign soon will match the brownish-red, earthen tones of the rest of the center.

“Recent criticism has prompted us to review . . . the color scheme,” said Larry Thomas, an Irvine Co. spokesman. “We, too, are not entirely satisfied with the results.”

That’s putting it mildly.

The bold color scheme at the center, located off the Santa Ana Freeway just across the border from Irvine, has drawn complaints from local officials and the threat of a boycott by nearby residents.

The result, the company said Monday, will be another Orange County first: an official repainting ceremony.

“Some ‘are red’ over the purple,” said Thomas in a prepared release. “The truth is, this isn’t a black or white issue. Some of our competitors are already green with envy over the attention this has generated. The center’s champions will be blue that we are changing the color.

“Overall, it could be that the entire issue was only a pigment of someone’s imagination.”