Finding Public Art in La Habra

     Hello! I am a resident of La Habra, a small city in Southern California.

City Hall

La Habra City Hall is located on the city's Main Street La Habra Boulevard. It was remodeled about four years ago but the same architectural themes remain. The boxy, high ceiling, neutral earthy tones, terracotta roof tiles, arched doorways are all thematic of the Spanish Mission style very historically bound to California. Palm trees, boxwood, and some smaller pine adorn the exterior and add some greenery to the parking lot. 

La Habra City Mural

This mural is quite new, under one year of its appearance on the side of this 7-Eleven business. It is adjacent to City Hall and across from the La Habra police department, and the community center. This mural was most definitely commissioned by the city. It depicts the city's name, and images of lemons and oranges which are significant to the city because they have an annual Citrus Fair in the Spring and this region is well known for the production of citrus.

The Children's Museum of La Habra

The La Habra Children's Museum is a city landmark and point of interest for many visitors. The chosen architectural design for this building, is again, the Spanish Mission style. This museum was opened in 1977. This museum is an interactive museum for children that teaches science, art, pretend play, math, sensory play, motor skills, and creative thinking. There are not too many museums dedicated to early child development, which is why this one is so special and many people drive a distance to visit. 
A mosaic tiled butterfly stands outside the building at The Children's Museum. The size is around 3ftX3ft and is lifted on a stand. It is beautiful to look at but not noticeable from a distance. you have to be standing close enough to notice.

Portola Park

Portola Park is located right outside of the Children's Museum. These structures are colorful and large, instant eye-catchers. These dinosaurs are so fun because it is rare to see large dinosaurs roaming your community park!  The vibrant public artwork is set just footsteps away from the Children's museum. The location is ideal because it connects the art to the appropriate audience: children and families. The dinosaurs are a grand visual for children and a good way to promote development in the areas of conversation skills, language skills, and bonding between children and families. This particular public art work serves a positive social purpose.

                                    Southern Pacific Trains

The Southern Pacific Train Depot is located right nest to the Children's Museum. This historic train depot was made in 1923, it was one of the earliest additions to the city of La Habra as it was becoming more of a concrete town.

La Habra Child Development Center

This is a mural painted on the building of the La Habra Child Development Center. It is located next to the tennis courts and right next to the Southern Pacific Train Depot. They all share the same parking lot. This mural is recent, maybe only two years old. It depicts a stylized train, trees and hills in the background. The colors are vibrant and give an overall playful feeling that fits well for the community this building serves. 

Bells

Critical Analysis of the "Boulevard of the Bells" and Public Art in La Habra

The bells line the streets of Harbor Blvd., La Habra Blvd., and Beach Blvd. After researching a little history on these bells, I came across the phrase "Boulevard of the Bells." This sounds pleasant enough at this point but then I read that the bells mark the path or road of the original "El Camino Real." El camino real is in Spanish and translates to "the royal road" This was a road that connected the San Franciscan missions that originally started in Southern California from San Gabriel to San Diego. La Habra lies between and it was part of the path that connected the missions. These missions were founded with the purpose of colonizing the lands and creating a fertile working place that would be valuable to the Spanish kingdom in the late 18th century. 

This road was used by the mission padres to travel from mission to mission however, the placement of the bells in La Habra are more symbolic than accurate but they do connect to the surrounding cities and are considered the main streets in the city. 

In my opinion, I agree that history should be recognized but we should only honor the history that has provided positivity and peace. It is understandable that perspectives are many and ever-changing, which is why I believe that the significance of these bells might have been greater at the time that they were created. Today, I see these bells as a reminder of the Spanish Missions and how they colonized California lands and destroyed Indigenous cultures, which includes the murders and psychological traumas of countless Indigenous people all in the name of Spain and Catholicism. 

The fact is that La Habra's population, today, consists of 60% Latino race. I believe that residents are not hindered by these bells simply because they are not eye-catching, they are easy to ignore, but when you see them and question their symbolism, you quickly learn their significance. I am bothered by their existence on the streets that I pass through everyday and am further bothered by the decisions of my city's officials to keep that message living by choosing to build in the Spanish Mission style for the city's buildings, including businesses that are along La Habra Blvd. This is much more than an architectural design choice, it is the continuance of racial inequality in our country. I would much rather see tribute given to the Indigenous culture of this land, the one that is original to this place, and I believe it is the correct thing to do because it would also represent the majority of the population that resides and pays taxes to fund the city.

I have lived in my community for twelve years now and I was surprised at the low quantity of public art. Being that I consider myself an artist, that I am constantly looking at images everywhere, I was surprised that I had not taken the time to focus in on my own residential city and evaluate the quantity of public art. I was underwhelmed at the amount and actually saddened about this. I would love to have a few more public art displays around my city because I really do believe this could help promote community and bring a pleasant aesthetic to this very neutral toned town. 

Proposal

The city of La Habra stretches a distance of 7.3 square miles and is home to 62,000 people. The city's residents vary in age and racial backgrounds, with the majority of residents (59.4%) being of Hispanic/Latino race. The city has its own school district, police department, community center, community theater, parks, library, and tennis center. La Habra is also home to The Children's Museum, one of only a few of its kind of interactive museums intended for small children. La Habra's city flower is recognized as the hibiscus, the city's tree is avocado, the city's motto is "La Habra-A Caring Community," lastly, the city's mission statement is: "improve the quality of life in our community." The city's motto and mission statement are entirely community based therefore I believe that La Habra should be serving its residents in a way that will improve their lives, exactly how the mission statement reads "improve the quality of life..."

My proposal for the city of La Habra is to build a walking trail for the community. It would stretch throughout the city and connect to the walking trail of the neighboring city of Brea. This walking trail will be thoughtfully landscaped with tall trees to provide some shade and a variety of drought tolerant plants. There will be several resting spots along the walking path that can serve the community. These resting spots will have opportunities for families to spend time there so there will be benches, a water fountain for people and pets, a couple of checkerboard printed tables for chess and checkers, a swing set, a circular smoothly paved area for children to ride a scooter or bicycle, and a wall intended for chalk painting or even handball. At each resting spot, there will be a space for temporary public art. This space will be monitored by community members who will choose what art to display, it will be temporary to allow many artists the opportunity to showcase their work. There will also be a board for posting community events, upcoming garage sales, local car shows, bargains, share a positive message, lost pets, etc.  The purpose of this walking path is to unite the residents of La Habra and provide them with community because without activities, events, and socializing, there is no community. This walking trail provides a daily opportunity to build community plus there are many great physical and mental health benefits that are direct effects of this walking trail. This walking trail is more impactful and beneficial to the community than the many bells cemented throughout the city. This will be the new and improved road that is made with the intention of "improving the quality of life of the community."