Inglewood Weighs Restoration of Depression-Era Mural

Inside Inglewood’s Centinela Park stands a mosaic mural created during the Depression by famed artist Helen Lundeberg. But over the years, the wall has become tarnished by weather, damaged by tree roots and cracked by a few cars that came careening down the road in the wrong direction.

The city is trying to figure out how to raise enough money to refurbish the wall, whose 64 panels span about 240 feet.

Initially, city officials were told by restoration expert Nathan Zakheim that it would cost as much as $500,000 to redo the wall at Redondo Boulevard and Florence Avenue. The city is trying to figure out how to restore it for less, said Skip Halloran, Inglewood’s community services director.

City officials believe they could have one panel refurbished, which Zakheim said would cost $20,000, and then get grants and volunteers to help with the rest.

The mural, which was dedicated in 1940, is called the “History of Transportation.” Lundeberg was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration to create the wall during the 1930s. It depicts the development of transportation, from oxcarts to streetcars to trains and airplanes. Lundeberg, 87, is still alive but retired.

The city also is thinking about moving the mural from Centinela Park to another location to give it more prominence. “It’s a beautiful thing,” said Halloran. “And Inglewood has very little public art.”