'Love Letter' Of A Mural Gets Planned Restoration In Pacific Palisades

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — An effort is underway to raise money to restore the nearly 500-foot mural across from Palisades Charter High School.

The Temescal Canyon Mural's creation began over 40 years ago by a group of Pali High students who were inspired by learning about public art and the history of the Palisades. "It is a love letter about the Pacific Palisades, inviting the viewer to stroll its wild landscape, witness its first peoples, and contrast how they inhabited the land with how modern society does," organizers of the restoration effort wrote.

The mural, located on the retaining wall across from the high school on Temescal Canyon Road, was painted mainly during summers from 1983 to 1990 and funded by hundreds of donations from residents and community groups, they wrote.

Now, the organizers — which include several of the original then-student artists — are asking the community to pitch in again to breathe new life into the artwork.

"The mural belongs to us all. While it has been patched up before, it now needs serious attention to address its chipped paint and peeling clear coat so the art will shine for future generations," artists Cathy Salser and Kat Kozik wrote in a letter to the community.

Salser and Kozik, who are leading the fundraising effort with resident Cindy Simon, tapped MuralColors to complete the restoration. They connected with the company via Palisades resident Charles Hirschhorn, president of Otis College of Art and Design, and Otis muralist and educator David Russell, they wrote.

"After meeting with the MuralColors team, we are impressed by their expertise and feel confident they would make excellent parters in this restoration and revitalization effort," the letter reads.

The project is expected to cost $105,000. Nonprofit A Window Better Worlds has raised over $71,000 for the effort, according to its donation portal.

Learn more and donate here.