Clyde Powell- Civic Engagement
The Site
The site that I chose to engage with, is the area of 7th Street, Victorville, California. This site was an easy pick for me because it is an area I grew up around known as “Old Town Victorville”, and it is down the street from the local high school Victor Valley High (also where I graduated from). The significance of this area is that it is a part of the Historic U.S Route 66 which is the route that connects the state of Chicago to California. Established in 1926, This location was known for attracting a lot of guests because of the shops, food diners, and places for you to fuel and just rest for a bit. Now the area has changed dramatically due to the overall decrease in travelers, which has resulted in a lot of the shops being abandoned rather than destroyed with the goal of preserving the classic old town look. The area has become filled with homelessness because of the decision to preserve these historic buildings. Over these last 5 or so years the community has been coming together to make efforts to revive this area of town while keeping the traditional look with multiple community clean up efforts, new shops, new murals and a new location for a monthly night market in the heart of Old Town (currently postponed) with a group called ROOT (Revitalize Our Old Town). One of the main reasons I chose this specific site is because it is a very historic area that I was allowed to spend years growing up in. Also, I enjoy how the area allows for creative freedom and community collaboration to bring new artistic and community friendly opportunities while maintaining the traditional old town aesthetic.
Field Work
The first piece of Art I would like to focus on is a community
memorial for the fallen soldiers and servicemen that were lost in war and were
a part of the Victorville community. The entire piece is known as the “Old Town
Victorville Veterans Memorial and it is in the city of Victorville on the
corner of Forrester Avenue and 7th Street. The “Old Town Victorville
Veterans Memorial” is an area that was created for the community members to sit
and commemorate 31 service members from the city of Victorville who sacrificed
their lives for the sake of our freedom. In the center contains a bronze statue
atop an octagonal post with written inscriptions of when this was made, a poem
by the 1996 City Councilman Felix G Diaz, who created the statue as well as the
names of those who are being honored. The memorial is a circular concrete area contains
two benches that are positioned behind the statue of a soldier, but not quite
opposite of each other rather at an angle where they both face each side of the
soldiers’ back. On the right hand side of the left bench contains a flag pole
that bears the American flag and originally contained a P.O.W M.I.A ( Prisoners
of War Missing In Action) flag underneath but unfortunately is no longer there.
This statue is called “For the Price of Freedom” and was created by Ismael
Rodriguez in November of 1996. The statue contains a soldier knelt on his left
leg holding his gun upward in his left hand paying his respects by saluting to
a gun that belongs to his fallen comrade and is shoved into the ground barrel
first with the fallen soldier’s helmet atop the gun. Right below the statue contains
a bronze plaque that reads: ““For the Price of Freedom” By Ismael Rodriguez
Heritage Bronze-Hesperia, California”. Beneath the plaque, in the center of the
octagonal post lies the emblem of the city of Victorville carved in the top
center and an inscription underneath that reads the names of the 6 city members
at the time who elected for the creation of this memorial and the date of its
creation which read; “Terry E. Caldwell Mayor, Jim Busby Council
Member, Mike Rothschild Mayor Pro
tem, Felix G. Diaz Council Member, Joann Almond Council Member, James L Cox City Manager
Dedication 9 November 1996”. Below that is a poem created by council
member Felix G. Diaz titled “We Remember” and the poem says:
“ That
Smile, That twinkle or tear in your eye,
That laugh;
We Remember
When you were growing up on the streets.
The grocery stores, the soda fountains, pharmacies and
shops;
We Remember
When you
attended our elementary schools
And Victor Valley Highs School;
We
Remember
When war
or conflict came, our nation called
On
you and you responded;
We
Remember
When you
came home on leave, proudly
Wearing
your uniform;
We
Remember
When you
were sent away to defend our
country, that last
goodbye;
We Remember;
We will always remember.
Author: Felix G. Diaz, City Councilman 1996”
On the panel to left of the center panel the United States
Marines logo is inscribed center of the panel, and the panel to the right of the
center has the seal of the United States Department of the Army inscribed in the
center of this panel as well. Continuing another panel right from the Seal of
Army, we will see the first 10 names of the servicemen along with, their rank, the
branch they belonged to, the wars fought, and their time here on Earth. The
next panel contains the seals of three different branches of the U.S military
which are the United States Coast Guard, United States Navy, and the United
States Marines. The seal for the Navy lies in the center with the seal for the
Coast Guard atop it and the seal for the Marines below it. The panel after contains
another 11 names of servicemen and like the other panel it also contains their
rank, branch, wars fought and time here on Earth. If we continue a panel further,
we will be met with the logo for the United States Air Force centering the
panel similarly to the Seal of the department of the Army on the opposite sides.
Finally, the last panel connecting the octagonal post contains the names,
ranks, branch, wars fought and time on Earth for the final 10 servicemen who sacrificed
their life.
The next artwork I would like to focus is a mural created by
an artist named Evan Meyer which is titled ““Joshua”-Tree of Life-Sunset”. Created and officially unveiled on Sept. 16th,
2020, Meyers made this with the intention of using art for its intended purpose,
which is to unite and bring the community together, which an area such as this
that has been getting negative buzz needs. This mural received its funding from
a grant from the Rose Foundation, in celebration of the 25th
anniversary of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994. Evan Meyer used many
triangles and rhombuses to create the background giving it a feel as if it were
made with stained glass. He uses the colors that evoke the beautiful desert
sunset skies that the city gets to set their eyes on almost daily. The 1000 ft
canvas allowed Meyer to transition the colors to almost feel as if they’re
blended as we would see it naturally in the sky, despite the immediate shifts from
one color to the next. The name may seem a bit strange as there currently is no
Joshua tree in sight, but this is because someone went over the mural recently
and made some adjustments where it used to be. Originally the mural contained a
beautiful purple Joshua tree to the left side of the with vibrant green leaves in
the form of triangles. Someone painted over the Joshua tree the words “Victorville
Downtown” in an old school urban font as well as the classic Route 66 sign to
the right of it. I believe that the first mural did a great job of bringing out
the feel of Victorville skies, but the new edition feels as if it represents old
town more. Driving through the streets of Old Town Victorville you will find graffiti
very similar to this one, especially along the trains that would be waiting
throughout the night on 7th street.
Critical Analysis
When I go through and analyze each artwork in the community
of Old Town, I realize that Old Town itself is the representation to the public
realm. I believe that the representation of Old Town in these art pieces is the
artists way of saying that Old Town is the people themselves. The history of 7th
street and its relation to Route 66 are the main histories that are being
centered. The artwork that I have researched all have been funded by the City
of Victorville itself; the council members come together and agree on the art that
is being asked to represent the community.
Proposal
In my community, I enjoy that
I have seen the efforts and attempts by the community with things like “ROOT”
and the constant community clean ups, as well as social events that are made to
bring the community together. I dislike the lack of art pieces and artwork in
most areas of Old Town, I understand that the goal of revitalizing does come
with a lot of factors from different areas that prolong the process of achieving
this goal, but I believe that public artwork is a way that can bring the
community together and cause more foot traffic to the area while being cheaper
than repurchasing one of the older store buildings and restoring it. I believe that
the areashould continue enhance the classic theme of Old Town that its going
for by looking into the designs of the past that worked while also culminating
new art pieces and styles. The buildings still remain in the style where every
store is right next to one another but most of the buildings are run down and
contain homeless people inside of them. At the moment there currently aren’t
too many murals in the Old Town area, If I were to implement or create one
myself I would utilize the building that is behind the Old Town Victorville Veteran
Memorial (which houses a few different shops inside), and create a larger mural
to further commemorate the 31 servicemen that sacrificed and represent them to
a larger scale. Also, there are a lot of empty flat dirt fields around a certain
area of Old Town, where buildings used to be that can be used as repurposed as
opportunities for art installments that involve the community to come together
and collaborate or discuss the installation.
Works
Cited
dnaleciz. “A Memorial to Fallen Servicemembers.” Tripadvisor,
2019, www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g33224-d24006546-r845560273-Old_Town_Victorville_Veterans_Memorial-Victorville_California.html.
Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
“Old Town | Victorville, CA.” Victorvilleca.gov,
2025,
www.victorvilleca.gov/government/city-departments/development/planning/old-town-victorville-1222.
Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
“Old Town Victorville Veterans Memorial, a War
Memorial.” Hmdb.org, 16 June 2016, www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=63923.
Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
Ray, Rene. “Artist Hopes Desert-Themed Mural Will Bring “a Little Light” to Old Town Victorville.” Victorville Daily Press, 17 Sept. 2020, www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2020/09/17/mural-oldtown-victorville-beautifyearth-artist-evanmeyer/3477488001/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z119079e007200v119079b0090xxd119065&gca-ft=93&gca-ds=sophi. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
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