Photo © Robin Dunitz
Date
1975
Location
1562 Baxter St. (mural faces Echo Park Ave.), Los Angeles Elysian Heights Elementary School, exterior
Media Notes
Approximately 8' x 20'
Description
A portrait memorializing a cat called Room A. She was named after the classroom where she spent her weekdays for more than 16 school years, beginning in 1952. When she died in 1968, people in the neighborhood began donating money to the school for a special memorial fund. Enough money was raised to sponsor a bed at Orthopedic Hospital in downtown L.A.
Also in the auditorium are three panels (4' x 8' each) of a CETA-funded 1979 project of students and artist Joan deBruin. They portray Echo Park Lake, Elysian Park, and the nearby hills. It was originally a four-panel portable mural that traveled to schools in Malibu and Highland Park to show children what different communities look like. The fourth panel is at Arroyo Seco Alternative School in Highland Park.
Images of storybook characters, painted by former teacher Cecile Preble, decorate the kindergarten area.
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