North Hollywood : Groups Pull Together to Make Mural Reality

Really, it’s all about community.

The newly painted 12-by-30-foot mural at the Colfax Avenue underpass on the Hollywood Freeway near Burbank Boulevard originally was a graffiti-busting project of the North Hollywood area Community Police Advisory Board, a civilian panel.

But, according to Sheri Herman of the advisory board, the project “rapidly snowballed” into an exercise in community cooperation.

Herman wanted to get neighboring North Hollywood High School in the act, eventually involving about 75 students. North Hollywood High contacted their adopt-a-school partner, Texaco. McDonald’s, Universal Studios and Lizner Corp. chipped in food, paint, brushes and rollers. Police officers and community members stopped by the mural site throughout February and March to monitor the progress.

The result is a vibrant, expressionistic mural rich in symbolism. The four panels--reflecting prehistoric Mexico, classical Greek civilization, early California and modern Los Angeles--are connected by the stem and roots of a flower.

According to mural designer, Joel Luna, 17, the artwork depicts the development of civilization. The inscription reads, “Before you can build a great city, you must have unity.”

In the process of painting the mural, the students did develop unity--among themselves, with school administrators, with community activists and with police officers, said North Hollywood Assistant Principal Jim Szabo, who coordinated the program from the school’s end.

For painter and North Hollywood senior Rene Campirano, the mural is not only a source of pride, but also a positive interaction with police officers.

“I’ve had a few confrontations with [officers],” the 18-year-old said. “But on this mural, they were nice and cool--I saw different characteristics, I guess.”

Beyond that, designer Joel has found a calling: urban planning, which he will study at Cal State Northridge next semester. Joel, who previously had never painted a mural, has also joined an advisory group to the North Hollywood Community Redevelopment Agency project.

“It fascinates me to see a place progress,” he said, “especially a neighborhood that deserves it.”