URBAN ART : A River of Kitties

I discovered the channel cats when I was 7. A Blue Bird leader herded a troop of us campers down into the L. A. River Basin on an adventure and there they were. Painted on 40 or so of the circular iron floodgates in channel wall near Griffith Park were friendly feline faces of all dispositions and colors. Some had been given names such as Carol and Cleo, many had been signed by the artists, and a request had been tagged on the wall by one of the cats: Los gatos e s ta para gozar, no destruir (The cats are for enjoying, not destroying). Legend has it that the cats were created on Memorial Day, 1960, by a family who bicycled into the basin and, on a whim, brushed ears and whiskers over the iron gates. But since then, I have watched

the cats change with the times. Local artists and students have painted and repainted the cats in styles ranging from ‘60s psychedelic to one reminiscent of a recent Japanese kiddie icon, Hello Kitty. Now, though vandalism threatens the litter, motorists heading north past Glendale on the Golden State Freeway still get a glimpse of Cheshire grins.