BREA : Students Are Part of Big Picture at Center

A construction site for the city’s community center received a splash of color over the weekend when children from local schools and youth groups painted a series of murals illustrating life in Brea.

The “You Gotta Have Art!” project was sponsored by the city and the Brea Rotary Club as a celebration of the new center. Brea Arts Commissioner Ray Moore designed the 4-by-8-foot mural panels that decorate the construction site at Randolph Avenue and Madison Way.

When the $7-million project is finished by mid-1996, the center will serve as a focal point for local activities. The 54,000-square-foot building will house a multi-sport gymnasium, weightlifting and aerobics facilities, a community hall, an arts and crafts studio, a catering kitchen, a cafe, meeting rooms, and a teen lounge and game area.

There will also be a classroom for the Tiny Tots program, a child-care center, a playground and family counseling offices.

Construction of the center was originally scheduled to begin last December, but Brea officials put the project on hold for three months in response to the collapse of the county-run investment pool. Brea had $9 million in the pool when the county filed for bankruptcy Dec. 6.

To help defray building costs, the public is being asked to purchase gallery pear and liquid amber trees for the center. Residents are also being asked to buy engraved glass panes for an original sculpture that will create changing patterns of light inside the center.

Information: (714) 990-7771.