HomeMy Public PortalAbout15) 9B Approval of Rosemead Boulevard Text ArtDATE:
TO:
FROM:
MANAGEMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM
April15, 2014
The Honorable City Council
Donald E. Penman, Interim City Manager ~
Via: Brian Haworth, Assistant to the City Manager I
Economic Development Manager
By: Chelsea Pitcher, Management Analyst
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF ROSEMEAD BOULEVARD TEXT ART
The City Council is requested to:
AGENDA
ITEM 9.8.
1. Approve text art phrases associated with "Temple City Routes" for immediate
fabrication and installation by the Rosemead Boulevard Grand Opening event on
May 10, 2014; and
2. Approve a $5,000 honorarium to the Homestead Museum to finalize narrative and
web components for "Temple City Routes" that further historic and local context for
each mosaic paver and related text art phrase.
BACKGROUND:
1. On August 7, 2013, the Public Arts Commission (Commission) received artist Robin
Brailsford's preliminary design concept for 23 mosaic pavers to be installed on
Rosemead Boulevard, which alternated images of camellia blossoms and ancient
Chinese folklore. Because the camellia motif was heavily used in other components
of the Rosemead Boulevard Safety Enhancements and Beautification Project
(Rosemead Project), the Commission requested that Ms. Brailsford provide an
entirely new design for 24 pavers that depict Temple family history and their
significant role in the early settling of Mexican California. The Commission also
requested that Ms. Brailsford provide a concept for 24 unique text art phrases that
contextualize each mosaic paver.
2. On October 2, 2013, the Commission recommended for City Council approval the
final design concepts for Ms. Brailsford's 24 art pavers with text art phrases. Ms.
Brailsford's paver designs, entitled ''Temple City Routes", were inspired by research
conducted at the Bowers Museum, San Gabriel Mission Museum, and the
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April15, 2014
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Homestead Museum. The City Council subsequently approved Ms. Brailsford's
concept for artworks on October 15, 2013.
3. On December 19, 2013, the Rosemead Project team identified the locations of
mosaic pavers and text art, taking into consideration field conditions and the
placement of artworks along the corridor's 2.2-mile art walk. Since the artworks are
accessible from multiple locations, the team paired a paver and text art phrase as
standalone installments, and not as a chronological timeline.
4. On January 17, 2014, the Commission visited Ms. Brailsford's home studio to
observe mosaic paver progress, and review paver placement. Based on joint
research efforts with Assistant Director Paul Spitzzeri of the Homestead Museum,
Ms. Brailsford informed the Commission of the artwork's expanded timeline to
include historic events beginning with the Temple family's migration from England
to the Massachusetts colony in the 1630s, to a few years after the founding of
Temple Town in the 1920s.
5. On March 31, 2014, the Commission approved text art phrases associated with
"Temple City Routes" for immediate fabrication by May 10, 2014. The Commission
also approved a recommendation for a $5,000 honorarium to the Homestead
Museum to finalize context that weaves together varying historically rooted themes
throughout the series of 24 pavers and corresponding text art phrases.
ANALYSIS:
Entitled "Temple City Routes," Rosemead Boulevard's 24 mosaic pavers and text art
features will exhibit nearly 300 years of local history, from the Temple family's
migration to America to the founding of Temple Town. Mainly inspired by stained glass,
tile and woodwork of La Casa Nueva-Walter P. Temple's family home-mosaic pavers
and text art features are intended to show how the founding of Temple City was not
merely a monument to the Temple family; but a representation of how the Temple's
identified themselves ethnically, entrepreneurially and as pioneering settlers of the San
Gabriel Valley.
Text art phrases are limited to 140-characters (modeled after Twitter "tweets") and
serve as historic narratives to contextualize each mosaic paver (Attachment "A"). While
Ms. Brailsford's initial concept called for poetic prose, staff heeded to Commission
input and developed a more straightforward approach to text art phrases that better
interprets the somewhat abstracted images conveyed in mosaic pavers. Furthermore,
this direct approach ensures text art can accommodate diverse audiences with special
needs, such as children and English learners.
Text art will be sandblasted using a serif font called Estilo (Attachment "B"), which
emulates a 1930s Art Deco sensibility with southwestern influence that well represents
the historic San Gabriel Valley. Each letter will be approximately 2 Yz" inches high, and
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April15, 2014
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sandblasted approximately 1/16" into the aggregate. Sandblasted text art will span
across the width of the sidewalks, which range from 4' to 13' wide. Sandblasted letters
will also be stained for easy recognition and readability.
From this project also stems an unprecedented partnership between the City and the
Homestead Museum to cross-promote the art walk and potentially expand its audience.
Recognizing this as an alternative and interactive opportunity to display local history,
Mr. Spitzzeri developed preliminary context for each paver to further elaborate the local
and national historic events as portrayed in the artwork. Using the Temple family as a
case study, Mr. Spitzzeri identified a broader artwork theme that transcends the
Temple's saga, and looks to the future by looking at the past. Mr. Spitzzeri pronounces
"Temple City Routes" as "roots" to indicate a double meaning in terms of how
immigrants get to places historically and currently, but also how they pull up their own
roots from one place and plant them in another.
To achieve these efforts, the Commission recommended by majority vote to grant a
$5,000 honorarium to the Homestead Museum allowing Mr. Spitzzeri to further refine
supporting context and provide historian consulting services for "Temple City Routes."
Commission input was incorporated into the final scope of work, which would require
the Homestead Museum to perform the following tasks by June 30, 2014.
Tas_kJ: Research and Analysi§
Mr. Spitzzeri will conduct historic and photographic research to identify supporting
information for each art paver, which may be used by the City as a basis for future
public art projects and educational programs. Currently the City has access to limited
historic resources, mostly focusing on events and urban development from the
founding of Temple Town to current day. However, the Homestead Museum's potential
research efforts will establish a repository of credible primary source information
featuring historic accounts that predate Temple City's founding.
Task 2: Historic Context
Based on collected research, historic context for each of the 24 art pavers will be
written by the Homestead Museum for the City's use. Historic context will provide an in
depth perspective of life in early San Gabriel, describe the Temple family's sense of
dual heritage, and bring light to the artwork's underlying theme of immigration and
migration. The Homestead Museum will provide the City with narratives for use in print
materials and online platforms.
Task 3: Finalization and Maintenance of Web Content
The Homestead Museum will maintain the historic context on their website as a
credible resource for access by the City, museum patrons and the general public.
Historic context will be formatted as webpages on the Homestead Museum's website,
bringing the grounded art walk into the digital domain. Additionally, the Homestead
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Museum's Creative Content Manager will update historic context webpages as their
ongoing research efforts uncover new information. The Homestead Museum's online
audience exceeds that of the City's, and in fact is one of the top ten Google search
results for Temple family history (out of millions of available links). Because the
Homestead Museum maintains a robust online presence, their web component is
anticipated to drive additional foot traffic to the art walk from museum patrons and
outsiders interested in San Gabriel Valley's early history.
Task 4: Art Walk Promotional Efforts
In addition to the website, the Homestead Museum will regularly promote the art walk
on their social media platforms and Wordpress blog. The Homestead Museum will also
circulate the City's promotional materials, such as flyers, brochures or self-guided tour
maps; and perhaps host educational programming and art walk field trips.
Furthermore, the honorarium formalizes a professional relationship between the City
and the Homestead Museum to collaborate on and promote future public art
installations on Rosemead Boulevard and beyond.
Combined, mosaic pavers, text art phrases and historic context encourage viewers to
interpret the artwork-just as other fine art-according to their own personal judgments
and experiences. While sidewalk text art recounts historic events, overarching themes
identified in the historic context will elaborate upon patterns of immigration between
past and present, suggesting many "routes" lead to opportunities for new life in Temple
City.
CONClUSION:
The City Council is requested to accept the Commission's recommendations, allowing
Ms. Brailsford to adhere to contractual deadlines for artwork to be installed by the
Rosemead Boulevard Grand Opening on May 10, 2014. Approving the $5,000
honorarium will allow the Homestead Museum to finalize and post historic context
online by June 30, 2014.
FISCAl IMPACT:
Approval of recommended actions do not present an impact on the Fiscal Year (FY)
2013-14 adopted City Budget. The City Council approved Ms. Brailsford's $60,000
Artist Agreement on September 3, 2013, which includes costs for artwork design and
fabrication. Funds for the $5,000 honorarium are available in the FY 2013-14 City
Budget as unexpended monies in Acct. 01-910-42-4231.
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April 15, 2014
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ATTACHMENTS:
A. Final Text Art and Preliminary Historic Context (Chronological Order)
B. Photo of Text Art Sample in Estilo Font
ATTACHMENT A
FINAL DESIGN CONCEPT
Title:
Artist:
Historian:
Description:
"Temple City Routes"
Robin Brailsford
Paul Spitzzeri, Assistant Director, Homestead Museum
Ms. Brailsford's final design concept for 24 art pavers and text
art phrases represent local and American history from the
1630s to 1920s. Paver designs include imagery of the Temple
family's migration to America; native Kizh, or "Gabrielino"
people; Mexican California; and scenes of rancho living.
Corresponding and final text art phrases mimic 140-character
"tweets," providing a short historic context for each mosaic
paver. Also included are Mr. Spitzzeri's preliminary narratives
that elaborate local and national historic events portrayed in
each artwork. Those narratives are proposed for further
refinement under an honorarium that communicates a pattern
of immigration between past and present, suggesting many
"routes" lead to opportunities for new life in Temple City.
Although the attached text art concept is in chronological order
(for easy reference), the paver and text art pairs have been
randomly placed on Rosemead Boulevard as standalone
installments. Furthermore, the color of aggregate as seen in
the attached paver photos is darker then what will be observed
when installed. As the cement continues to cure over next few
weeks, the aggregate will become lighter in color and the
mosaic will show more fully.
Paver 1: State Seal of Massachusetts
Phrase: 1630s Temples migrate to Massachusetts from England, to excel in
"Happy New England." Later, two male heirs, in the same spirit, head west.
Location: Half block south of Las Tunas Dr. on the west side of Rosemead
Blvd.
Context: Just as the Temples migrated to New England in the 1630s, they
were also among the first Americans to come to the Mexican California frontier
of Los Angeles two hundred years later. This shows a major theme in American
life over the centuries-immigration and migration over long distances from all
over the world, a theme that resonates strongly in Temple City today.
Paver 2: Winemaking
Phrase: 1760s Franciscans plant vineyards, as wine is used in Catholic rites.
Temples and Workmans later crush the same grapes, bottling wine and brandy.
Location: East corner of Rancho Real Rd . and Rosemead Blvd.
Context: An important part of the local economy through the end of the 1800s
was winemaking, though vineyards were cultivated under the Mission system in
the previous century. While the fertility of soil in the San Gabriel Valley was
nationally renowned, people today would be hard pressed to understand that.
Paver 3: California on Horseback
Phrase: 1769 -1860s For Temples, Workmans and others, the Rancho Era is
a fabled one of Dons, vaqueros, vast cattle herds and fine horsemanship.
Location: Half block north of Pentland St. on the east side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: The ranching era of California gave rise to an image, which was often
exaggerated and romanticized, of fabulously wealthy "Spanish" Dons, dark-
eyed beautiful senoritas. and ranches that required little effort to maintain . In
fact, ranching was often a difficult enterprise beset by floods and drought,
declines in market prices, and other factors. Still, the images of gaily-dressed
men and women, the world-famous horsemanship of the Californios, and other
images pervaded the view of outsiders.
Paver 4: Mission San Gabriel
Phrase: 1771 As Franciscans commandeer native lands and sacred world for
the San Gabriel Mission, Kizh people flee or resist.
Location: Half block south of Emperor St. on the west side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: The phrase refers to the Spanish missionaries coming to California,
specifically the San Gabriel Valley, to establish missions such as the Mission
San Gabriel. The change to the native Kizh (a.k.a., Gabrieleno) peoples is all-
pervading, leading many to flee the Europeans or resist being inculcated in the
mission system. Temple City was once part of the domain of the nearby
mission and the Kizh had a village Sivag-na that was nearby (today's Savannah
Cemetery). An overarching idea is that the introduction of new societies to older
ones, whether sudden and violent, or slower and more peaceful, brings
profound change.
Paver 5: Cattle Brand
Phrase: 1771-1855 Ranching as a livelihood can be prosperous or ruinous.
Legacies fatefully change with work, weather, timing and luck.
Location: Half block north of Pentland St. on the west side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: A major image of the American West is the cattle ranch. Raising
cattle was the backbone of the regional economy through the mid 1860s,
including on the Rancho San Francisquito, which encompasses most of today's
Temple City. That heritage was important enough for the Temples to have a tile
plaque installed at their 1920s home La Casa Nueva to commemorate the
cattle legacy.
Paver 6: Women in a Mission Environment
Phrase: 1785 Toypurina, a shaman, convinces her people to rise up against the
Spaniards. Overheard, her plan is thwarted and she is banished.
Location: Half block north of Longden Ave. on the west side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: In this situation, the revolt of the female shaman Toypurina directly refers
to the dramatic transformation wrought by the Mission San Gabriel over the native
Kizh people. The attempt to overthrow the Spanish and reestablish the dominance
of the native people is defeated, however. This is reflective of both a major event in
local history during the Spanish period, as well as the unusual role of a powerful
woman in the lives of the Kizh.
Paver 7: Horsemen Roping Cattle
Phrase: 1820s-1850s The hide and tallow trade is the lifeblood of the Mexican
California economy. Gold Rush appetites create demand for beef and generate
wealth.
Location: Half block north of Broadway on the east side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: Made famous in the eastern United States by Richard Henry Dana's Two
Years Before the Mast (published in the late 1830s) Mexican California's hide and
tallow trade was the only significant industry of its time. With the onset of the Gold
Rush in 1848-49, local ranchers turned to selling their animals "on the hoof' in the
gold fields at great profit to satisfy growing demands for fresh beef. Where most of
Temple City is now was part of Rancho San Francisquito, which had large herds of
grazing cattle during that period.
Paver 8: California Figures
Phrase: 1820s -1920 Temple City's founders begin a rich tradition of fiestas,
pageantry and community that continues to this day.
Location: Half block south of Emperor St. on the east side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: One of the enduing metaphors and symbols of the past of the San
Gabriel Valley and the Temple City area is its association with the Spanish and
Mexican pasts, however heavily romanticized. From the publication of Helen
Hunt Jackson's landmark novel Ramona, to the creation of the Mission Play at
San Gabriel in 1912, to the restoration of the California missions, to the
development of Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture
(some of which is found in Temple City), symbols of all kinds are prominent and
pervasive even today. Fiestas, pageants, plays and other events are part of this
heritage and Temple City's Camellia Festival, in its own way, reflects one
dimension of that legacy.
·Paver 9: American Sailing Ship
Phrase: 1827 & 1841 Yankee half-brothers John and Pliny Fisk Temple each
sail around the Horn to California, where they meet for the first time.
Location: Half block south of Garibaldi Ave. on the west side of Rosemead
Blvd.
Context: Whereas the Workman family traveled overland to Mexican
California, half-brothers Jonathan and Pliny Temple took a more conventional
ocean-bound route. John came by way of Hawaii in 1827 and Pliny arrived
fourteen years later. Remarkably, the brothers had never met being twenty-six
years apart in age and John left their native Massachusetts before Pliny was
born. Their story is a microcosm of how Americans made their way to the
Pacific region during the first half of the 1800s.
Paver 10: Mexican Flag Symbol
Phrase: 1828 John Temple opens the first general store in Pueblo de Los
Angeles. As naturalized Mexicans, the Temples are granted vast ranch
acreage.
Location: Half block south of Hermosa St. on the west side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: Jonathan Temple soon realizes his entre into the small, isolated,
frontier Los Angeles community by opening the town's first store. He and, later,
his brother Pliny, will make other efforts to become accepted into the dominant
society by such actions as marrying local women, converting to Roman
Catholicism, becoming naturalized Mexicans and others. The Temples begin to
acquire land throughout the region over the years, including interests in Rancho
San Francisquito, in which most of today's Temple City is situated.
Paver 11: Women and Child
Phrase: 1840s Taos, Mestizo and Mexican women marry Wilson, Temple and
Workman patriarchs. The families nurture and revere their dual heritages.
Location: Half block north of Sereno Dr. on the west side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: While American and European men married local California women
as part of adapting to the dominant society, the women had a general challenge
of raising their children to be of both cultures. These chi ldren might have Anglo
names and receive educations well-grounded on American and European
models, but also were usually expected to be Spanish speaking and maintained
many of the practices and traditions of thei r California ancestors. This holds
true fo r people today, including in Temple City.
Paver 12: Wagon Train Scene
Phrase: 1840s -1870s Expansionism justifies and wagon trains romanticize
the taking of land, which has been home to Native Americans for millennia.
Location: Half block south of Longden Ave. on the west side of Rosemead
Blvd.
Context: The next major transformative event locally may be the introduction of
new settlers in late 1841 to the San Gabriel Valley. These were primarily
Americans and Europeans who migrated from New Mexico, where the
American movement into Texas was threatening that part of Mexico. The
arrival of the Rowland and Workman Expedition signaled another change in the
demographic makeup of the local area and foreshadowed later migrations,
including those from the American South who established the El Monte
community within a decade.
Paver 13: Wagon Train Campfire
Phrase: 1841 Disputes in New Mexico spur Rowland, Workman and Wilson to
join the first overland trek of migrants to southern California. Others soon
follow.
Location: Half block north of Garibaldi Ave. on the west side of Rosemead
Blvd.
Context: Within several years of the arrival of the Workman and Temple
families to this area, further migrations and the Mexican-American War brought
the conquest of Mexican California by the United States and furthering, as well,
the worsening situation of the native people. Later generations of Americans
romanticize the effort to extend the United States "from sea to shining sea."
Paver 14: Rose and Cross Symbol
Phrase: 1840 -1940 Embracing San Gabriel Mission's faith is fortuitous for the
Temples and Workmans culturally, politically and financially.
Location: Half block north of Sereno Dr. on the east side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: The Temple family made many references to their personal and
regional history throughout the construction of their home La Casa Nueva, from
their Spanish/Mexican and American/European heritages. The question of dual
heritage, in this case symbolized by a European reference with a rose-and-
cross herald, reflects in Temple City today with its growing demographic
diversity.
Paver 15: The California State Flag
Phrase: 1846-1847 Bear Flag Revolt and American invasion lead to
California's annexation from Mexico. Temples and Workmans affirm both
loyalties.
Location: One block north of Broadway on the west side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: During the American conquest of Mexican California-an event that
completed the goal of so-called Manifest Destiny from "sea to shining sea"-many
Americans and Europeans· had conflicted roles. Those who had married into local
families, become Catholics and Mexican citizens, and had established friendships
with Californios, often found their loyalties pu lled both ways. William Workman, for
example, negotiated an amnesty for Californios fighting the Americans and helped
bring out the flag of truce for the last battle of the war in Californ ia, at Los Angeles
in early January 1847. Later, when he hid Pio Pico at his house when the ex-
Governor returned from Mexico, the local American garrison commander referred
to Workman as "ever hostile to the American cause." John Temple, however, had
American troops quartered on his ranch in today's Long Beach.
Paver 16: Masonic Symbols
A ¥
Phrase: 1850s Temples and Workmans are Freemasons. The fraternal creed
of honesty and kindness is symbolized by hand tools, sun and moon.
location: West corner of Sereno Dr. and Rosemead Blvd.
Context: Social clubs and fraternities were an important part of American life in the
mid 1800s, with the Masons being a prominent example in the Los Angeles area
and elsewhere in the nation. Today, the organizations may be different, but many
people still participate in community-minded organizations for social, philanthropic
and other reasons.
Paver 17: Workers in the Fields
Phrase: 1860 Floods and drought end the era of beloved ranches. Temples
realign their sights to agriculture, railroads, even banking.
Location: One block south of Las Tunas Dr. on the east side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: In the aftermath of the dual devastation of flood and drought from 1861-
64, the Temple family moved towards agriculture and away from cattle ranching.
With the conclusion of the Civil War and other developments, Los Angeles enters
its first significant growth period in the late 1860s through mid 1870s. The
Temples and Workmans become business partners in many enterprises, including
real estate, oil, railroads, banking and other endeavors. During this period, the
families acquire an interest in the western 2/3 of Rancho San Francisquito, on
which Temple City is founded fifty years later.
Paver 18: Cornucopia
Phrase: 1870s-1920s Exotic peacocks, walnuts, oranges and tea enhance the
native cornucopia of rancho kitchen gardens.
Location: Half block north of Longden Ave. on the east side of Rosemead
Blvd.
Context: The San Gabriel Valley, including what became Temple City, was
legendary for its fertile soil and its successful atmosphere for cattle ranching,
sheep raising, and agriculture (particularly vineyards, wheat, oranges, lemons,
walnuts and other products). For the focus period of this project, through the
1920s, its fame as a bountiful ranching and farming region was widespread.
Paver 19: Temple Oil Wells
Phrase: 1914 Nine-year-old Thomas Temple kicks a rock on family land. Up
comes bubbling crude and fortunes peak again.
Location: East corner of Elm St. and Rosemead Blvd.
Context: The discovery of oil in the Montebello Hills by nine-year-old Thomas
Temple inaugurated this important new field in the region and restored the
Temples back to wealth almost forty years after the family bank failed. The
timing is excellent as automobiles start to become commonplace, aviation is
beginning to grow, and World War I is on the horizon. For the Temples it allows
them to undertake many of the same pursuits as their forebears, including real
estate, oil projects and Temple City.
Paver 20: Oil Tanks and Workers
Phrase: 1920s Flush with new oil money, the Temples venture into real estate,
oil and philanthropy as the area booms.
Location: East corner of Hermosa Dr. and Rosemead Blvd.
Context: In addition to their many business pursuits (including oil wells in
southern California, Alaska, Texas, and Mexico and real estate projects in Los
Angeles, San Gabriel, El Monte, Monterey Park, La Puente and Temple City),
the Temples become philanthropists. Among their projects include: building the
first monument to a World War I soldier in the area (now located in Temple City
Park), marking the original site of the Mission San Gabriel, and being the
largest subscribers (with Henry Huntington) to the Mission Playhouse at San
Gabriel.
Paver 21: Agnes Temple
Phrase: 1920s Agnes Temple is a modern woman, pianist and world traveler.
Hard won family finances create freedom for her generation.
Location: One block north of Hermosa Dr. on the east side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: The Temple family's identification with their Spanish and Mexican, as
well as their English and American, pasts are noted in their choices of education,
career, leisure activities, friends, spouses and more. In the building of their home,
La Casa Nueva, now part of the Homestead Museum, they decorated their house
with many references to their past, including this window of Agnes dressed in
Mexican costume, complete with a mantilla and Spanish shawl. She wore this at
community functions and private parties. At the same time, she was a modern
young woman, who was well educated and artistic. The naming of a street for her
in Temple City is perhaps indicative of the city's own founding as a monument to
the Temple family's awareness of heritage, but planned in a modern way.
Paver 22: Thomas Temple
Phrase: 1923 Thomas Temple continues his family's legacy in town, shaping
the land as a developer and preserving its history as an archivist.
Location: One block north of Garibaldi Ave. on the east side of Rosemead
Blvd.
Context: Dressed in his charro suit, sarape and sombrero, which he wore to
family gatherings and public events, Thomas Temple expressed himself as a
"chip off the old block" when it came to his dual heritage (Latino and Anglo).
Educated at Harvard Law School, where his uncle attended in the 1870s,
Thomas developed a passion for family and regional history and was the city
and mission historian at San Gabriel. After finishing at Harvard in 1929,
Thomas was briefly a director of the Temple Townsite Company and retained
an interest in its development over the years.
Paver 23: La Casa Nueva
Phrase: 1927 Like a paradise garden, La Casa Nueva is built to house and
share Temple's vast accomplishments. Two years later, foreclosure.
Location: One block north of Hermosa Dr. on the west side of Rosemead Blvd.
Context: Walter P. Temple established Temple City as a monument to the
Temple family and his home La Casa Nueva (completed in 1927 just four years
after the town was started), was another monument to fami ly and region with its
many references to history and in its use of architecture, building materials and
decoration . In 1927, Temple's attorney wrote a letter to Walter indicating that, in
the future, tourists would go to see his newly-built house. Similarly, Temple City
was well-planned with an eye to the future, but also commemorated the family's
past.
Paver 24: Don Quixote
Phrase: 1927 Like the famed novel, Don Quixote, Walter Temple's own quest
for success was at times quixotic.
Location: Half block south of Longden Ave. on the east side of Rosemead
Blvd.
Context: Walter Temple's favorite book was Miguel Cervantes' Don Quixote,
which has a significant reference to the Spanish past redolent in Temple's
home, La Casa Nueva. Perhaps ironically, .Temple's own attempts during the
1920s to reestablish his family's name and prominence in the Los Angeles
region through his business and civic endeavors proved "quixotic;" as eerily
reminiscent of his father and grandfather fifty years before, he followed them
into financial failure by the Great Depression years. In a way, his planning of a
monument to his family in Temple City proved quixotic as well, as factors like a
peak in the local real estate market by 1923 when the town was founded, heavy
speculation in town lots, and the well-intended Mattoon Act prevented the town
from developing successfully.
ATTACHMENT B
SAMPLE SANDBLASTEDTEXTART
SAMPLE TEXT ART IN ESTILO (UNEDITED)
1630s TEMPLES ~IT ENGLAND FOR MASSACHUSETTS, To PROSPER IN "HAPPY NEH
ENGLAND." LATER, TI!-IO DESCENDANTS, IN THE SAME SPIRIT, HEAD WEST.