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The wall on the side of Valley Plumbing’s Home Center, at Peters and Rose avenues, is the new home for Pleasanton’s latest mural.

The Pleasanton Downtown Association sponsored and funded the mural project, which was completed by artists Ron Norman and Bill Weber. It is the second mural funded by the PDA, which has a mural subcommittee as part of its design and beautification committee, and a third one is being planned.

Norman and Weber were up for a challenge in not only depicting historically accurate details, but also painting on wavy metal siding.

For Norman, it was a welcomed project, as he was a Pleasanton resident for more than 20 years. Now a resident of Pacheco near Pleasant Hill, he painted the mural in the City Council Chamber in 1984, depicting the sister city relationship with Tulancingo, Mexico.

The sepia-toned artwork recalls Pleasanton in the 1920s, with Ford Model Ts and a giant Southern Pacific steam train. With old photos gathered from the Museum On Main, they created a pastiche that was translated into the mural. Adding a touch of modernity, the mural includes a man, painted in color, capturing the scene with a digital camera.

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5 Comments

  1. How urban.
    Aesthetically, I have always found murals to be the first indicator of gentrification where there is urban decay. Painting on walls is the civil graffiti. I myself prefer the brick,and stucco. There just is not always a need to fill space.

  2. Lisa, so you believe that the wealthier people are moving into the poor urban area of downtown Pleasanton and taking over to make it more suburban? (yes, I just researched the term gentrification)

    Of course the Sistine Chapel was just painting on the wall too.

  4. Come on people just enjoy. The sun is out the weathers fine. the birds are singing , and you all have to quibble over a beautiful mural on the side of what had been an ugly piece of sheet metal.

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