Brush with the past
By Daily Press staff
MID-CITY — The day’s history lesson was staged outdoors on Tuesday for the students of McKinley Elementary School, who marked the school’s 100th anniversary with the unveiling of a mural that spans three separate handball courts on the school’s Mid-City campus.
The mural was designed by students with the help of local artist David Legaspi, who over the last six years has painted more than a dozen murals on every campus within the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Students painted the mural along with their parents and teachers as a way of demonstrating school “P.R.I.D.E.,” which at McKinley stands for “Peaceful, Respectful, Intelligent, Diverse and Enthusiastic.”
Throughout the year, Principal Irene Gonzalez plans to host a series of events celebrating the centennial. McKinley was founded in 1906 to handle an influx of new residents thanks to the establishment of a brick manufacturing plant and a large bean storage warehouse, both located on the eastern edge of town, according to the SMMUSD. The school was originally located on 20th Street between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona Avenue before moving to its current location on Chelsea Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard in 1923.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 4, 2006. Read the original PDF.