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# Popular murals to get facelifts
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/popular-murals-to-get-facelifts/
- Published: 2004-11-22T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:39:12.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Environment, Ocean Park, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

The Santa Monica Arts Commission voted last week to allocate $135,000 to preserve two murals, which are considered the most cherished in the city.

Known as “The Whale of a Mural” and “Unbridled,” located beneath the Fourth Street overpass on Ocean Park Boulevard, these pieces have served as a gateway to the beach for hundreds of thousands of beachgoers, officials said. “Whale of a Mural,” along the south side of Ocean Park, painted in 1983 by Santa Monica resident Daniel Alonzo, places the viewer in the depths of Santa Monica Bay, surrounded by the whales, porpoises and seals found there. On the north side of the street, David Gordon’s whimsical “Unbridled,” painted in 1985, depicts the horses of the Santa Monica Pier Carousel escaping the merry-go-round and running free along the beaches. Although both of the murals have held up for the past 20 years, the weather, along with a few vandals, have taken their toll, officials said.

The Arts Commission also approved $59,750 in grants to local arts agencies at its meeting on Nov. 15\. The commission approved 13 grants to local nonprofit arts organizations to support projects benefiting the community. Grants of up to $5,000 will be given to the Santa Monica Museum of Art, the Santa Monica Playhouse, 18th Street Arts Center, Highways, Donna Sternberg and Dancers, Powerhouse Theatre, the Verdi Chorus, the Santa Monica Theatre Guild, Celebration Arts and TeAda Theatreworks to expand community access to quality arts programming.

Some of the projects supported by the grants include a “Dia de los Muertos” event to take place in Santa Monica’s Woodlawn Cemetery, coordinated by Celebration Arts; a series of Asian/Pacific Islander performances at Highways; and visits by the entire third grade of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District to the Santa Monica Playhouse. The grants also will help fund education programs at the Santa Monica Museum of Art, the premiere of a new musical adaptation of “The Story of Atalanta” at the Powerhouse Theatre and two concert presentations of operatic choruses by the Verdi Chorus.

For additional information on the Arts Commission or its programs, call the city’s cultural affairs division at (310) 458-8350 or visit www.arts.santa-monica.org. Divine intervention: Shop for charity

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 22, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/112204.pdf?ref=smdp.com)