City celebrates 90th with murals

--ERON BEN-YEHUDA

Huntington Beach turned 90 this year and received rare murals as a gift.

The dedication of the artwork, valued at more than $1 million, capped a

ceremony at City Hall late last month that included performances by the

Huntington Beach Concert Band and the Festival Ballet Co.

Hundreds who attended the celebration enjoyed holiday and birthday music,

while the ballet troupe danced a sequence from “The Nutcracker.”

The murals, made of ceramic tile, are mounted on several walls of the

Civic Center. One work shows a pelican diving into an ocean teeming with

fish. Another features snowy egrets perched on branches. They transform

the drab government buildings into an outdoor art gallery, then-Mayor

Peter Green said.

Designed in 1976 by Edward Carson Beall, they were salvaged from the

demolished Seacliff Village shopping center. The artist created only one

similar work, which is now on display in Maui, Hawaii.

The city acquired the art through private donations.