MURRIETA: Murals coming to Murrieta Library

Third panel approved by Library Advisory Commission

By NELSY RODRIGUEZ - Staff Writer | Saturday, July 5, 2008 4:09 PM PDT ∞

MURRIETA ---- Historians and artists had no problem finding images to symbolize the early days of this region, nor was it difficult to find elements that represent today.

But the concept for the third panel of a mural that will depict Murrieta's past, present and future, and will adorn a wall of the Murrieta Public Library was murkier.

So advisers to the project settled on the idea that emblems representing expected development, cultural synergy and everyday life should be embedded in the design for the third panel, which will depict the city's future.

When the last panel is complete, the three will be placed on a wall near the Heritage Room in the Murrieta Public Library. The Heritage Room holds photos and artifacts of the region's history.

Eddie Lopez, the Temecula-based artist behind the mural, said he hopes to have the three pieces completed by the end of this month. The total cost for the project is $12,700, which was paid for by private donations made to the David M. Carson Memorial Fund ---- an account created after the death of a long-standing community organizer credited with assisting in the grassroots movement behind incorporation.

"It was a wish that something like this be done in his name," Lopez said. "But unfortunately, he wasn't around to see this come to reality."

That no one can know exactly what the future holds proved problematic in designing the mural. The Library Advisory Commission and Friends of the Murrieta Library, along with the city's librarian, gave Lopez ideas for a third-panel concept. But Lopez's first presentation to the groups resulted in detailed discussion and more specific direction.

"You can't make it some flying cars," Lopez joked. "They wanted to incorporate the Golden Triangle (commercial development), so what we've ended up doing is adding a piece of a projected fountain that's going to be in that plaza."

Lopez said the third panel will include figures of a physician representing medical facilities that local doctors are working to build, and a dancer, representing an expanded arts and cultural element to the city.

"If I had a crystal ball, I'd be a millionaire," said Librarian Loretta McKinney. But because she doesn't, she added, they tried to get a feel from a variety of groups as to what the future of Murrieta should include.

The first two panels were easier to conceptualize.

The panel representing the past shows old Murrieta, with ranches and men on horses. The feeling is tranquil and serene, Lopez said, much like the casual breakfast during which a number of the area's residents decided that Murrieta should stand on its own.

When a push for city incorporation began in the late 1980s, so did the movement for a public library independent from the county's jurisdiction.

After buying books from garage sales to begin stocking shelves and the fateful 1991 election that turned the land into a city, the library was established in 1999.

The second panel of the mural is a collection of images of the new City Hall at Town Square and the new library, which opened in 2007.

Lopez used input from Carol Carson, a founding member of the Friends of the Murrieta Library, the Library Advisory Commission and his own interpretation of Murrieta's story to create the second panel.

"I think it's really going to be a jewel for the city," said Lopez, a native of Los Angeles whose sculptures, paintings and murals have been featured in films and earned him acclaim across the nation.

Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.