The History of Transportation by Helen Lundeberg shows the history of human transportation in the Centinela Valley, including Inglewood. The mural showcases technological changes in transportation from walking to horses and carts, to railroads and propeller-driven airplanes. A small white dog appears throughout the mural’s design.

The History of Transportation was a commission from the Federal Works Progress Administration, and is the largest mural in that program. The mural was originally built along one of Inglewood’s most traveled commuter arteries. After car accidents destroyed two of the sixty panels, a multifaceted, four-year conservation effort began. The mural was re-installed on city property specially landscaped as Grevillea Art Park. It faces Inglewood High School along the City’s busy Manchester Boulevard.

The History of Transportation brochure, in English and Spanish, is available here. The 2009 Relocation Landscape Architect was Randall Meyer and Associates with Restoration and Interpretive Kiosks by Sculpture Conservation Studios.

Helen Lundeberg (1908-1999) was a nationally noted artist. Her works are in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C., the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and numerous other public and private collections. Lundeberg moved to California at age 4 and studied art. Between 1933 and 1942 Lundeberg worked on New Deal / WPA projects, starting with lithograph prints and then designing murals. She became one of California’s most revered artists, creating critically acclaimed paintings in a variety of unique and individual styles.

Date: 1940
Collection: City of Inglewood Permanent Public Art Projects
Medium: Petromosaic Mural
Material: Mortar and crushed rock on 60 panels
Size: 240′ long x 8′ high

Location:
Grevillea Art Park
230 S. Grevillea Ave.
Inglewood, California 90301

Art Conservator Rosa Lowinger details the enormous effort of restoration, made possible by the city, the Getty Conservation Institute, and many individuals, in her podcast.