The tradition of colorful murals in Pacific Palisades took root 27 years ago when the 1985 graduating class at Palisades High commissioned the mural of the dolphins that graces the front of Mercer Hall.
After artists Kat Kozik and David Strauch, both PaliHi graduates, completed the dolphin mural, they formed a loose partnership, Palisades Muralists, and undertook what would become a multi-year project—the masterful mural that runs along Temescal Canyon Road at Bowdoin. This frieze, commissioned by the class of 1983 several years after graduating, highlights the wonders of the natural environment in the Palisades: the mountains, the sea and the natives who populated the area around 1500 A.D.
Kozik, Strauch and later PaliHi grad Cathy Salser, all college students at the time, devoted successive summers to the project, completing the project in 1990. When Kozik was nominated for a Sparkplug Award in 1990, Marge Gold wrote in her nominating letter, “In creating the mural, she created something that belongs to each and every one of us.”
Over the years, other inspired artists living in the Palisades, including Terri Bromberg, Susan Haskell, Martha Meade, Dmitri Kadiev and numerous students, have welcomed community participation, and found eager volunteers, adults and students who have dedicated hours to the work of painting on a vertical surface.
Murals now grace numerous school buildings, the interior of the branch library, the retaining wall in Los Liones Gateway Park and the back wall of CVS Pharmacy. Following is a sample of the variety of design and subject matter that make our town a little bit brighter.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
