Northridge Unveils Its First Mural in a Sereis Envisioned for Reseda Boulevard

From a press release:

The “ZelzahTrain Depot” mural painted by Tim Cornelius will be unveiled on Sunday, Oct. 5 between 2 and 4 p.m. on the corner of Reseda Boulevard and Rayen Street in Northridge.

“This is huge,” said Andrea Alvarado, chair of Northridge Sparkle. “We’ve been beautifying Reseda Boulevard for fivve years and waiting for L.A.’s ban on new murals to be lifted so we could bring art into the community.”

Northridge Sparkle Campaign began to prepare for the possibility of murals along the Reseda Boulevard corridor by holding its first art show, called Old Northridge Historical Interpretations, May 18, 2013.

“These paintings would be considered for murals once the ordinance finally passed,” stated Roger Dolin, owner of Mural Enviornments, Inc., and director of the Public Arts Initiative for the Museum of the San Fernando Valley.

On Aug. 28, 2013, the ban was lifted, and the painting by Tim Cornelius was selected to be the first in a series to be placed on Reseda Boulevard. The “Zelzah Train Depot” was inspired by images of historic Northridge.

Cornelius is a Los Angeles mural artist originally from Bualo, New York. He has been working with Roger Dolin of Mural Environments, Inc. since 2002, specializing in children’s mural art.

Highlighting the unveiling will be guest speaker Coucilmember Mitchell Englander. Featured will be live music by Marv Rosenberg’s Safari’s, a gold record acappella doo wop group. Also featured will be food provided by Dickey’s BBQ Pit in Northridge, a steel bin trash container community painting project, and fun for the entire family.

Northridge Sparkle is a grassroots organization that has gathered momentum with the businesses and the community by tackling the cleaning of the Reseda Boulevard underpass, planting flowers in tree wells, enticing developers, reporting graffiti and working with the LAPD to reduce crime.

Northridge South Neighborhood Council participated in the funding of Northridge’s first mural. Most of the funds to beautify the main street has come from the community and business operators.

To kick off the mural unveiling, the Museum of San Fernando Valley will hold an exhibition reception on Saturday, Oct. 4 from 6-10 p.m., showing the proposed mural paintings for Reseda Blvd, historic photos of the San Fernando Valley, and First Annual Artwork Chair Show at 18860 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.