City Hall: Macdonald-Wright Murals – Santa Monica CA

City:
Santa Monica, CA

Site Type:
Murals, Art Works

New Deal Agencies:
Federal Arts Project (FAP), Arts Programs

Started:
1938

Completed:
1939

Artist:
Stanton Macdonald-Wright

Quality of Information:
Very Good

Marked:
Yes

Site Survival:
Extant

Description

Two large petrachrome murals by Stanton Macdonald-Wright flank the entrance to Santa Monica City Hall. Each one is two-stories high and wraps around a corner of the lobby. The murals would have been funded by the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP), since Macdonald-Wright was supervisor for the FAP’s Southern California division from 1935 to 1943.

Macdonald-Wright pioneered the petrachrome method, whereby a mural is painted with a liquid mixture of materials including crushed tile, marble and granite.

The mural on the south side of the lobby is entitled “Recreation in Santa Monica” and represents popular spectator sports of the time, such as tennis, golf, polo, car racing, and sailing. It was intended as publicity for a city on the make and to reinforce the idea of Southern California as a land of leisure.

The mural on the north side is titled “History of the Santa Monica Bay Region.” The mural depicts the arrival of the Portola Expedition at the Kuruvungna Springs, site of a Tongva village. This encounter was friendly; the natives were hospitable and offered food, water and gifts. (The Kuruvungna Springs still exist today on the campus of University High School in West L.A., set aside as a historic site and restored to celebrate the Tongva tribal community past and present.)

Both murals have generated controversy recently, criticized as misrepresenting Santa Monica’s history. The Recreation mural shows only white, prosperous-looking people; yet, in the 1930s Santa Monica had a substantial industrial belt, working class residential areas, and Mexicanos living on the south side of the city. (Ironically, recent gentrification has made Santa Monica’s racial and class make-up more like that depicted in the mural!) The History mural has been criticized for showing the Portola group standing and on horseback, while the Tongva people are on the ground in what looks like a supplicant position.

Nevertheless, the Macdonald-Wright murals are significant pieces of art by a major Southern California artist and an integral part of the City Hall lobby as originally conceived. One hopes that a compromise can be reached through appropriate signage, continuing opportunity for public comment through the Reframe: City Hall Mural project, and space for a Tongva history display in the lobby.

Source notes

Nina Fresco, local historian

Site originally submitted by Richard Walker on May 9, 2023.

Location Info


1685 Main St
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Los Angeles County

Coordinates: 34.0118, -118.4915

At this Location:

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal project site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.