History of Highland Park. 1977.

25ft. x 200ft. 
Acrylic on Cement.

“AT&T’s former company, Pacific Bell, commissioned the work to be done by Barrio Planners in 1977, who in turn selected Judy Baca and a team of artists that consisted of Joe Bravo, Sonya Fe, Arnold Ramirez, Sonny Williams and others. Barrio Planners’ Frank Villalobos said “It weaves together the history of Garvanza and Highland Park with the landscape and people of the Arroyo Seco. It was designed to work in conjunction with the street trees that were also planted creating a 3-D effect.” –  The Eastsider

In 2011 “The 33-year-old “History of Highland Park” mural is all about the layers. Layers of graffiti above layers of original paint, layers of history, layers of architecture, art and culture.  Today, a project began to remove the layers of graffiti and grime and to restore and preserve the 125-foot-long mural, which adorns two long walls of the AT&T building at 1207 N. Avenue 56. The $78,000 project, led by Judy Baca (one of the original four artists), was the result of years of community advocacy and collaboration between AT&T, SPARC,and Councilman Jose Huizar.

After a kick-off event, the actual work began to peel off layers of graffiti and remove inappropriate treatments to the iconic 1977-78 mural.  After starting with a lot of elbow-grease and “biodegradable orange peel juice,”  the mural restoration crew then followed up with a power-washer that stripped off years of the unwanted graffiti in a manner of minutes, revealing the original mural underneath.” – The EastSider