Community Input Workshop – a report

Approximately 30 people gathered at the Hollywood Adventist Church on Saturday afternoon, March 8, to give their input on a “community-based art mural” being proposed for the exterior wall of the church, facing the 101 Freeway.

After opening remarks by Neville Salvador (a member of the church and an architect by profession) which you can read after the jump, muralist ManOne gave a 20-minute slide presentation of his experience and previous work doing public art murals.

After ManOne’s presentation, participants gathered in groups of 6 or 7 around tables to fill out a questionaire and share their ideas about what would make for a great mural that depicts the beauty and character of our neighborhood. Each table then reported back to the larger group.

It was a very useful and productive time. New acquaintances were made and we all learned something new. A huge thank you to all who participated!

Introductory Comments, by Neville Salvador
Before we turn this workshop over to Lennox, our master of ceremonies and facilitator for the afternoon, please allow me to say a few words.

On behalf of the purple church at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and the Hollywood Freeway, I’d like to welcome and thank you for taking your valuable time to help us make Hollywood a more beautiful community.

Hello, my name is Neville Salvador, I’m currently the head elder of this church; and in that capacity, I’d like to welcome you to this exciting adventure.

As an architect, I’ve been involved in many projects I am proud of: from 60-story high rise office buildings to college and university campuses, from corporate interiors to beach homes and theme parks; but of all the projects I’ve been involved in, this one, a single wall with a mural, excites (and scares) me the most. Why? Because it’s personal. It represents transformation, the transformation of my church and the neighborhood, my neighborhood.

Along with my parents and siblings, I joined this church in the early 1970s when we first immigrated to this country, and since then, have observed many changes in the neighborhood. I watched with pain, anxiety, fear and sadness the slow decline of Hollywood Boulevard.

As typical teenage boys, my brother and I would walk across the street, caty corner to the church, to Hollywood Sports Cars and check out the latest Ferrari or Lotus models. But eventually, the exotic car dealership, along with many similar establishments left, and the slow decline of The Boulevard began.

I think we hit rock bottom during the years of subway tunneling that made a virtual ghost town of Hollywood. The Boulevard was nothing but steel plates and sinkholes flanked by empty, abandoned storefronts. The exotic car showrooms gave way to repair garages; boutiques gave way to shops selling cheap trinkets and T-shirts. And what the subway construction hadn’t already destroyed, the Northridge earthquake finished off. Hollywood, literally, became nothing but a pile of rubble.

But thankfully, there is hope, creativity and hard work. And out of the rubble of the former Hollywood rose a new Hollywood, a transformed Hollywood. Yes, in spite of all the challenges, the highs and lows, this is still my church, my neighborhood, my Hollywood.

My brother and I often marvel at the fact that we are living out our childhood dreams, from drooling over bright red Dinos and Berlinetta Boxers, he went on to Art Center in Pasadena and now designs cars in Detroit. I went on to architecture school at San Luis Obispo to become an architect.

I look forward to the day, sometime soon, when my brother visits from Detroit and we can walk across the street together; but instead of looking at Ferraris and Lamborghinis, I can proudly wave my hand toward a finished mural, and say with pride, “See what our community has put together.” With your input, and the talents of a widely-acclaimed artist, we’d like to embody, in this mural, what are the core values of this community–what are its dreams and aspirations. More than just a few brushstrokes and splatters of color on a wall, my hope for this mural is that it captures, and brings together, in all its diversity, this unique, creative, world-reknowned, iconic community called “Hollywood”.

Thank you for caring enough to be here at the crossroads of a new endeavor. Thank for sharing your thoughts, your feelings and your dreams for this neighborhood. Thank you for listening and reaching out to understand someone else’s feelings and opinions, as you share your own. Thank you for engaging in this process, which is your contribution toward building community. May the re-birth and transformation of Hollywood continue.

Welcome to this workshop.