The Downey Depot Transportation Center has two claims to fame. First, the center was built at the site of the old Downey train station. (There was an unsuccessful effort at the time to save the old station as a historical building.) You can see a picture of the old station here.
Second, this mural on the front of the center was created by artist Terry Schoonhoven. Schoonhoven, who died in 2001, is considered one of the country's premier muralists. This particular mural depicts Downey's history from the 1800s up through the modern space age (not shown here).
St. Louis, my home town, had a few of these "human progress" murals. They give a fascinating, sometimes sad look back at how we saw ourselves, what we expected our future would be like.
ReplyDeleteI like how the mural reflects pieces of the past, connecting different time periods into one scene, giving a sense of connection between past and future. I also like how the tile edges are deliberately fragmentary, creating the image of a work in progress, waiting for the next generation.
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