The Refreshed "The Grandessa Azteca" Mural at Villegas Park

The north-facing mural on the handball court and adjacent to the pickleball court in Villegas Park (3091 Esperanza St., Riverside) has recently been re-painted with more color and additional detail.  The murals are signed Jimbo Sloe Alfred Jasmine Freddy 26.  Jim "Jimbo" Gutierrez (@jimbogutierreztattoos) led the effort assisted by Sloe  (@sloe_motions), Alfred Zaragoza (@maddtatterz) and possibly others. The mural is entitled, "The Grandessa Azteca" and is based on a tragic ancient Aztec love story. It was originally painted in 1980, restored in 2018, and more recently 2026. 

#RiversideArt #AztecLegends #CityofRiverside #VillegasPark #CasaBlanca

Casa Blanca Elementary School Entrance Mural

A new mural featuring prominent aspects of the history of the Casa Blanca area has been painted at the entrance to the Casa Blanca Elementary School (7351 Lincoln Ave., Riverside, CA) school yard.  The orange growing history of the area, the murals on Lincoln Ave., the palm trees, the local KPRO radio station and a Raincross-bearing pavilion are shown. The mural is unsigned but based on an Instagram post, I believe that the mural was painted by local muralist Mano Mirande @_mano_man.   

#CasaBlanca #citrusindustry #Riversidehistory #LincolnAvenue #KPRO

STEM Mural at Casa Blanca Elementary School

A new STEM-themed mural has been painted at the new Casa Blanca Elementary School (7351 Lincoln Ave., Riverside, CA).  Interestingly the illustrations within each letter represent tools or symbols used by each discipline. The mural is unsigned but based on an Instagram post, I believe that the STEM mural was painted by local muralist Mano Mirande @_mano_man.  

#STEMschool #CasaBlanca #RUSD #RiversideUnifiedSchoolDistrict

Casa Blanca Elementary School Mural and Playground Paintings

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Casa Blanca Elementary School (7351 Lincoln Ave., Riverside, CA) took place on Aug. 5 which allowed the public to see a colorful new mural of a phoenix, the school mascot, above the entrance, and an brightly painted playground behind the school.  Representative pictures are below.  The mural and paintings are unsigned but I believe that the phoenix mural was painted by local muralist Mano Mirande @_mano_man.  

#Casa Blanca #Casa Blanca Elementary School #RUSD #Riverside Unified School District #playground

Mi Aldea Murals

The Mi Aldea Services store (3220 Madison Ave., Riverside) has a simple mural with a green bird with a long tail flanked by words in Spanish above its door.  Mi Aldea is the name of the shop and means My Village in Spanish. Ave Nacional means National Bird and represents the resplendent quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala. More recently, another small mural of a flower has appeared on the store.  It appears to be of the “La Monja Blanca” or the White Nun Orchid which is the national flower of Guatemala. The artist for both murals are unidentified. 

The ARC "National Wall of Respect" Mosaic

On the wall bordering the parking lot of The ARC headquarters (8138 Mar Vista Ct, Riverside), is an impressive mosaic entitled, The National Wall of Respect, that shows individuals both with and without various disabilities along with prominent sites within the City of Riverside. The theme is Dignity, Inclusion, Respect and Justice for people with and without disabilities. The artists for mosaic were Erin Maxwell, Greg Maxwell and Cathy Maxwell of @maxwell_mosaics. The large mosaic (43 feet long by 10 feet high) was designed, created and installed for the Arc of Riverside in 2013. More information about the mosaic can be found on The ARC website. 

"Descanso par el Cansad" meaning "Rest for the Weary" Mural

The wall to the east of Ahumada's Market (7614 Evans St, Riverside) has been painted with a deep blue mural showing a light blue man with a staff crossing the river with a child on his shoulder.  To the right are the Spanish words "Descanso par el Cansad" which means "Rest for the Weary".  As the muralist Geoff Gouveia @geoffgouveia explains, "I painted the legend of St. Christopher crossing the river. The child asks St. Christopher to be carried across the river and St. Christopher obliges. While carrying the child, he grows quite heavy and St. Christopher struggles to get him across. When St. Christopher asks the child why he became heavy, the child revealed he was Jesus carrying the weight of the world. It’s a reversal - the “strong” man carrying the child is actually the one being carried. Hence why we painted “Rest for the Weary” in Spanish (to better sympathize with the local population in the area of the mural.)..." Additional information can be found on Gouveia's Instagram post.  

Press Enterprise Article on the Murals and Arts Blog

Recently I had the good fortune of working with the Press Enterprise newspaper reporter Sarah Hofmann and photographer Terry Pierson, who wrote an article about this blog. I met them down by the Magnolia Center and had an enjoyable time talking to them and having photos taken of me with some of the murals I've written about.

Here is a link to the article. After it was published, I took screen shots of some of Terry's photos and have posted them below with links to the related blog posts.

 

This photo by Terry Pierson shows me (David Eastmond) holding a smart phone with an image of the Greetings from Riverside mural by Mano Mirande. I am standing in front of the Riverside Central Dining Center mural by Cloe Shadee Hakakian. 

This photo by Terry Pierson shows me in front of the Riverside Love Letter mural by Ekaterina Orlovie. There are other pictures of this mural in the article. 

This photo by Terry Pierson is one of two in the article that show me riding my bike in front of the Casa Blanca mural by lead artist Juan Navarro. 

This photo by Terry Pierson shows me taking a picture of the Brockton Arcade in 1956 mural by Christine Curry. There is another photo of this mural as well.   

This photo is one of two by Terry Pierson in the article showing this Historic Brockton Avenue mural by Christine Curry.  

This photo by Terry Pierson is of the Buscando el Lado Soleado (Looking for the Sunny Side) mural by Geoff Gouveia. 

Links to the other murals shown in the article are below.

Cesar Chavez mural on Casa Blanca Center

Riverside Stamp and Coin mural

Providence Realty mural

Mr Taco mural on Main Street

Riverside Classic Car mural

Beatty Elementary School mural

Hope you enjoy the photos and posts.  The locations have been geo-tagged on the blog so they should be easy to find if you want to see them in person. To those new to the blog, all of the posts to date are listed in the frame to the right under the month that they were posted.  In addition, the posts have been labeled by location, type of art, etc. By clicking on the post name or the label, one can go to the mural or work of art of interest.  

Feeding America Murals

Several of the walls inside the Feeding America food bank and distribution warehouse (2950 - B, 2950 Jefferson St STE B, Riverside) sport colorful mission- and food-themed murals.  The artists are unidentified.  I photographed them on a recent tour.  One can also see them by volunteering to help Feeding America distribute food to local food pantries.  

Welcome to Casa Blanca Mural

Upon entering the Casa Blanca area of Riverside from the west on Madison Ave. (3230 Madison St, Riverside; on the Bonnett Irrigation Building), there is a richly colored golden-yellow mural with prominent images from the Casa Blanca area. The lead artist on the mural was Juan Navarro @luvmonsterz with help from Jonathan Godinez @suer.arts, @micorazontepinta and others.  

Casa Blanca Community Center Classroom Murals

The classroom walls of the Learn4Life classroom in the Casa Blanca Community Center (7680 Casa Blanca St, Riverside) are covered with murals depicting historical events and objects from Mexican history and mythology as well as a scene of what appears to be early farm labors in Riverside.  One mural is signed Roy Duarte 1973.  The other artists are unidentified.  [Note: The classroom can only be visited by permission when class is not in session.]  

Grandmother Mural-like Painting at Casa Blanca Library

A mural-like picture featuring a native American grandmother is now exhibited on the street-facing side of the Casa Blanca Branch of the Riverside Public Library (2985 Madison St, Riverside).  It was painted by Denise Silva @pearmama, who also painted the Four Grandmothers mural on the Riverside Main Library.  The painting is one of four located at branch libraries in Riverside.  More information on the murals can be found here.  

"Picked by Hand" Orange at the Casa Blanca Library

In 2006, the Art Alliance of the Riverside Art Museum held a public art project and fundraiser called the Giant Orange Artventure.  The painted orange shown below was painted as part of this competition and features the head and shoulders of a man surrounded by many Latino names.  The painting is entitled, Picked by Hand and was painted by Ed Fuentes.  It is currently located in the entranceway of the Casa Blanca branch of the Riverside Public Library at 2985 Madison St, Riverside.