Faded Glory: "Isle of California" (The Mural Capital of the World, Part II)

One of the most famous of all Los Angeles' murals is "Isle of California" (1972), the work of Victor Henderson, Terry Schoonhoven, Jim Frazin of the L.A. Fine Arts Squad.

While some of L.A.'s most visible murals, especially those along freeways, have been destroyed by vandals and taggers (subject for another post) "Isle of California" is suffering a different fate.

38 years of exposure to the sun and the elements have taken their toll - this amazing mural is slowly fading away.

"Isle of California" is a mythical vision from the California/Arizona border when California becomes an island after "The Big One" (the term used to described a future major earthquake).

The mural is located at The Village Recording Studio at 1616 Butler Avenue, literally just a few feet away from Santa Monica Blvd in West Los Angeles.

If you want to see what "Isle of California" originally looked like, head on down to the Venice Beach. There's a much smaller version of the mural featured in some tile work along the Boardwalk.



And I found a color photograph on another website: federicodecalifornia.files.wordpress.com. This is what "Isle of California" looked like 30+ year ago. Amazing - and sad. 


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