Public Art in Azusa - Aysha Flores

    

Public Art in Azusa, California

Phase 1: Site selection

 I chose the city of Azusa because I grew up there and I am still currently living there. I loved having the opportunity to grow up in the San Gabriel Valley and specifically in Azusa. I have a lot of good memories here, and I love how peaceful it is here. I love being so close to the Azusa Canyons and being able to see them every day. This city will always have a special place in my heart, and forever be connected to the iconic "A-to-Z" (an important slogan meaning the city has "Everything from A to Z in the USA").

Phase 2: Field work
    

Route 66 Centennial Monument 




Location: Northwest corner of E Foothill Blvd & N Alameda Ave, Azusa, CA 

Artist: Victor Ving (muralist and the creative force behind the Greetings Tour).

Theme/Who is Represented: The mural depicts iconic and historical monuments in Azusa. It represents Azusa as a city and highlights its historical significance.

Materials: This is a mural that is painted on this wall by the Azusa police station, but there is also an installation of the Route 66 sign that stands tall in front of this mural.

Created: January 2026, so it is a very new piece of art in the city.

Sponsors: City of Azusa 

Inscriptions: There are a lot of them, but the main one is "Azusa." 

Community Reactions: The community loved this new piece of art in the city. Before, this wall was not painted and always had some kind of graffiti on it since it is the police department's wall. I personally really like this new mural, and it gives a very nostalgic feeling.

Taco Tapatio Mural





Location: 502 E Foothill Blvd, Azusa, CA at Taco Tapatio

Artist: Unknown

Theme/Who is Represented: This mural is on the side of a wall in the parking lot for a taco place called Taco Tapatio, and it has a kind of Aztec feel to it. This is important because Azusa High School's identity and mascot used to be an Aztec, but was changed in 2022 to a jaguar, even though they still kept the title and pride as Aztecs.

Materials: It looks like it was spray-painted on the wall.

Created: I don't know when this was created, but it has been here unfinished for a few years now.

Sponsors:  Unknown

Inscriptions: None

Community Reactions: Some people in the community like it and are just super disappointed that it has been unfinished for so long. Personally, I am super intrigued by this mural and have a lot of questions about it, like who's the artist? When did they start it? Why is it unfinished?

Louie's Liquor Mural



Location: 596 E Foothill Blvd, Azusa, CA at Louie's Liquor

Artist: "Scrap" a graffiti artist (insta @scrap_graffiti) 

Theme/Who is Represented: The mural represents the liquor store and what they sell and are known for, but also brings a lot of fun colors to this huge wall on the side of the store. 

Materials: Spray paint

Created: 2023

Sponsors: Louie's Liquor

Inscriptions: Beatbox and Louie's Liquor

Community Reactions: Some people in the community hated this mural because it is a huge promotion for alcohol, and they did not like that at all. I personally like it; it brings so much more color to the space, and it does really well in representing the very vibrant and energetic personalities of all the staff working at Louie's liquor store. They are all heavy into representing the community and show a lot of support for community-based events.

Gang Graffiti


Location: On N Donna Beth Ave and E Newburgh St, Azusa, CA

Artist: Unknown

Theme/Who is Represented: This represents a gang affiliated with Azusa called Azusa 13, and it is used to mark territory.

Materials: Black spray paint

Created: April 2026

Sponsors:  None

Inscriptions: AZUSA 13, TRAGICK, and REMACE SR

Community Reactions: The community hates these tags and graffiti. They are sick and tired of having to deal with all of this gang violence, especially in an area where a lot of children hang out after school. I also do not like this kind of tagging because they just pop up overnight, and it just shows that they were out late at night making stuff up, and that would be super dangerous to bump into them during that time. It also makes the city look so ugly and so violent.

Phase 3 Critical Analysis:

    I think a lot of the murals around the city like to show so much pride and historical value of the city in them. They are really community-focused, and I can really appreciate it because it makes the murals have even more meaning to them when you can get a sense of nostalgia from them. Even though we have a lot of beautiful pieces of art around the city, we are still burdened with gang graffiti that pops up overnight. Whether it is the gangs marking territory or two different ones fighting, the graffiti they make has a huge impact on the way the city looks and is represented.

Phase 4 Proposal: 

    As I stated before, I chose this site because of the personal significance and value it has to me. If I had a choice to grow up in this city again, I would do it in a heartbeat. I love that the community is very heavily influenced by Azusa High School, being the Aztecs, because you can see the representation of it throughout the whole city with its murals. I also really like how there is a huge representation of Chicano and Latino artists and culture throughout the city. One of my major dislikes is the amount of gang-related graffiti we have. They pop up out of nowhere, and they are a huge eyesore for the community and diminish the city's reputation of being so community-oriented.

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