Franklin Hills Residents Association FHRA

"Fluid City Rising" by muralist Ricardo Mendoza
Dedicated on March 26, 2009.

Students from King Middle School perch on the steps below Prospect Avenue, while those who saw the project through 6+ years of planning, painting, repairing and preparing damaged walls led the way down the stairway. In the front row Councilmember Tom LaBonge, project coordinator Mary Francis Smith-Reynolds (with daughter Graycie), muralist Ricardo Mendoza, and Michael Espinoza, Project Manager from the LA Office of Community Beautification.
The Mural, which was painted in Mendoza's studio on three specially prepared panels, was attached to the concrete in February 2009, after years of delay due to the deteriorated surface of the walls. At the dedication Mendoza declared the mural a 'lasting monument to the transformative spirit that made this happen." And about the years of delay and problems overcome Espinoza explained, "you can't rush perfection."

Contributions from the Franklin Hills Residents Association, the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council, Councilmember Tom LaBonge's office, and the L.A. City Office of Community Beautification, helped finance the project which was spearheaded by former FHRA boardmember Mary Frances Smith-Reynolds.

RADIO WALK CLEANUP 2009
The Beginning	The End

A BIG THANKS to all the hard working volunteers from the LILA School and "Voluntears" from Disney's Prospect Studios who cleaned up Radio Walk from Hollyvista down to Deloz in May 2009. In three hours more than a dozen sweepers, scrapers, clippers and pruners filled more than 60 large plastic bags, leaving what had been a nearly impassable path a clean place for a pleasant stroll. Many Franklin Hills neighbors stopped to offer thanks saying they had been avoiding the stairway because of its unkempt condition.

HOOVER WALK MURAL DEDICATION "Fluid City Rising" by muralist Ricardo Mendoza Dedicated on March 26, 2009. Students from King Middle School perch on the steps below Prospect Avenue, while those who saw the project through 6+ years of planning, painting, repairing and preparing damaged walls led the way down the stairway. In the front row Councilmember Tom LaBonge, project coordinator Mary Francis Smith-Reynolds (with daughter Graycie), muralist Ricardo Mendoza, and Michael Espinoza, Project Manager from the LA Office of Community Beautification. The Mural, which was painted in Mendoza's studio on three specially prepared panels, was attached to the concrete in February 2009, after years of delay due to the deteriorated surface of the walls. At the dedication Mendoza declared the mural a 'lasting monument to the transformative spirit that made this happen." And about the years of delay and problems overcome Espinoza explained, "you can't rush perfection." Contributions from the Franklin Hills Residents Association, the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council, Councilmember Tom LaBonge's office, and the L.A. City Office of Community Beautification, helped finance the project which was spearheaded by former FHRA boardmember Mary Frances Smith-Reynolds.

Muralist Mendoza, in February 2009, applying the panels he painted to the specially prepared concrete. Mendoza and his assistants scraped about a quarter inch of paint, built up over about 80 years, off the walls before they could apply the mural. The mural panels have a special anti-graffiti coating that it's hoped will help keep the site looking great. In fact since the walls were prepped for the mural there have been no graffiti attacks on the site. Not all the work was done on the walls. Compare the top view on dedication day with the bottom views a month earlier during mural installation. Farm Feliz and many community volunteers working hard to clear the weeds and plant drought resistant landscaping at the site. The community's help will be needed to keep it that way. And Councilmember LaBonge pledged to get trash cans installed to keep the area a tidy community treasure.