Restored ‘Dreams of Flight’ Mural Takes Wing Again

“Dreams of Flight”, a mural on the wall of a Boyle Heights housing project, tells the story of a popular fantasy--a boy dreaming of piloting a flying machine.

Created in 1973 by local artist David Botello, the artwork was rededicated Friday in a ceremony celebrating completion of its restoration.

Located at 3241 E. Olympic Blvd., “Dreams of Flight” is one of the 50 artworks that have helped earn the Estrada Courts Housing Project a national reputation for mural art.

The action-packed fantasy depicts, among other things, a boy swinging on a tire, another boy hanging on to a balloon soaring through the air, yet another boy with a model fighter plane, an astronaut and his spaceship, and Pegasus, the winged horse of mythology.

After 23 years of being exposed to the elements, the mural had eroded to a dreadful condition, Botello said.

“I was able to restore my mural to better than its original condition,” the artist said, adding that the painting’s message is to tell children their dreams can come true.

The restoration project by the Social and Public Art Resource Center is called the Mural Maintenance and Inventory Program. It is the first program in the United States devoted to cataloging, tracking, and caring for completed murals.