Then & Now
Craig Bullock
The City Council officially unveiled two restored murals on Sept. 10
that are in the renovated interior of City Hall.
This long overdue restoration removed years of grime and corrected
poorly implemented alterations that the murals, unfortunately, suffered
over the years.
The murals now can be seen in their entirety for the first time in
over three decades, and these magnificent works of art celebrate the
spirit of freedom and our own city.
It all started on Feb. 14, 1941, when Mayor Frank Tillson broke ground
for the construction of Burbank City Hall, which was designed by William
Allen and W. George Lutzi and funded by the Federal Works Agency, Works
Project Administration of Southern California.
When completed, City Hall cost $409,000, including furnishings!
Two muralists were commissioned to adorn the building with art that
would capture the spirit of freedom and Burbank.
Muralist De Macko created the “Justice Mural” in the city attorney’s
office, and Hugo Ballin created “Burbank Industry” in the City Hall
rotunda and the “Four Freedoms” in the City Council chambers.
Tragically, that same year that City Hall broke ground, our very
freedoms that Ballin so beautifully depicted were under attack from
fascism aboard, and the funding from the Works Project Administration was
terminated.
Fortunately, the city of Burbank funded the project to its completion.
In commissioning Ballin, the city hired an accomplished artist whose
works include murals at the Griffith Observatory and the Times Mirror
Building as well as the design for the medallion of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
His masterpiece, however, is the “Four Freedoms” mural.
Inspired by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s State of the Union
address given at the signing of the Atlantic Charter in 1941 -- 11 months
before the United States joined the war that ravaged Europe, Ballin
created his 11-foot-by-22-foot mural that dominates the City Council
chambers.
The mural depicts scenes of figures symbolizing the four freedoms of
man: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and
freedom from fear. Below these figures, Ballin painted ordinary people
practicing these freedoms in their daily lives.
To celebrate the spirit of Burbank, Ballin created “Burbank Industry.”
This 8-foot-by-24-foot mural in the rotunda celebrates Burbank and
features Burbank-built aircraft, the motion picture industry, a power
plant and scenes of Burbank family life.
In 1964, the bottom third of the mural was removed for a bridge that
connected City Hall to the Municipal Services Building. The mural has now
been fully restored. When City Hall was dedicated on Feb. 12, 1943, the
United States was fighting in World War II to protect those freedoms that
Ballin depicted.
In a tragic sense of irony, these murals were unveiled just as the
United States is, once again, called to the task of defending our
freedoms.
Everyone is encouraged to visit City Hall to view and reflect upon
these beautiful works of art and the powerful themes they invoke.
While the murals are historic, their themes are timeless.
CRAIG BULLOCK’S column appears monthly in the Leader. He is the
chairman of the Burbank Heritage Commission and can be reached by e-mail
at BrbnkHeritageCom@aol.com.