Cabrillo Boulevard's West Beach makeover underway : Chumash-inspired mural will be prominent feature of improvements Santa Barbara News-Press   August 1, 2009   MATT BLOISE, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Cabrillo Boulevard, like many aging beauties in Santa Barbara, is undergoing a little renovation.

About 2,800 feet of two-foot-wide sidewalk is being torn out along West Beach between Stearns Wharf and the Harbor to make way for a project that will combine pedestrian safety and artistic showcases.

According to Lawrence Jackson, a supervisor for the Santa Barbara Department of Public Works, the $1.8 million project is moving forward because of safety concerns.

"Quite frankly the sidewalk was pretty beat up, a lot of patches. It was significantly deteriorating," he said about the 70-year old sidewalk. Mr. Jackson added that as the sidewalk is being replaced, the city is taking the opportunity to provide significant improvements around the area.

"We're putting electrical lines underneath the sidewalk as the opportunity permits," he said. "There will be bulb-outs, where the curb moves out into the parking lane about five or six feet. They will be at the intersections, shortening the walks that pedestrians have to make. There will be refuge islands out in the center that will allow people to stop if the traffic is heavy."

The improvements will include brick crossings with pedestrian-activated lighting across Cabrillo Boulevard, and a colored concrete bench. The sidewalk itself will have scenes from the history of Santa Barbara sketched into the ground. The project will also relocate several picnic tables from underneath trees near Los Baños pool, where bird droppings often mar the setting. "Right now, it's a place where white wash takes on a whole new meaning," added Mr. Jackson.

One of the most predominant features of the project will be the integration of a mural inspired by Chumash history and lore that will be installed into the bulb-out. The mural will feature a circular depiction of three levels of different worlds -- the Upper World, which is the world of the sky people, the Middle World, where humankind lives, and the Lower World, where a form of malevolent spirits dwell. A yellow pattern will ring around the mosaic, similar to the weavings of a basket, and a sand dollar will be placed in the center. The entire mosaic will be made from non-slip tiles ranging from one-square inch to one-sixteenth square inch. There will be some 150,000 individual pieces installed. The tiles are being cut by hand with a team of eight artists, and will be placed with grout into a large circle 20 feet in diameter.

Stephen Franco Jr., an artist for the project, described it as a collaboration between five bands of the Chumash tribe, bringing elders from San Ynez, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Bakersfield and San Luis Obispo. "It's something that's really huge, and something that hasn't happened in a long time," he said about the five bands coming together for a single project. "We sat down, and we wrote a narrative."

A series of meetings with Chumash elders and artists continued for several months, ultimately arriving at the current design. Mr. Franco said the mural was inspired by the oral tradition of the Chumash tribe, and was closely inspired but not based on local cave paintings, as a gesture of respect.

The mural will be installed across the street from Ambassador Park, which is the historic location of the Chumash village, Syuxtun.

The debut of the mural was delayed several months, said artist Lori Ann David, when the Jesusita Fire destroyed the platform on which it was being built -- along with three homes of the artists on the team.

As a press release for the project stated, it will feature areas of knowledge in which the Chumash were historically accomplished, including astronomy, cosmology, oral tradition, song, dance, community and trade. Aspects of their history, from the moment of contact with Spanish sailors in 1769 into the present day, will also be represented. The brass ring in which the mural will rest will be installed in two weeks, she said, and she expects the mural will be installed sometime in September.

The project, which has been planned for three years, was started in late June and is expected to be completed by February. Construction halts during the weekends, Mr. Jackson said, to allow pedestrians and drivers full access to the beach area. Construction takes four to six weeks per intersection and is staged to allow for the minimal amount of disruption to the area businesses and the community, he said.

Mr. Jackson estimated the new sidewalk could last for another 80 years "if we can keep the big trucks off of it."

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