Piru / Rancho Camulos Piru Murals
Piru Murals
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Piru - Camulos Recreational Trail Public Art Project
Highway 126 began as El Camino Real – the mission trail. The road connecting Mission San Fernando to Mission San Buenaventura went through the Santa Clara Valley to reach the coast. The coming of the railroad in 1887 brought a dramatic change to the Santa Clara Valley. Paralleling El Camino Real (now known as Telegraph Road), the rail line was built from east to west - Los Angeles to Ventura. With the railroad came the establishment of the valley’s towns, including Piru.
In 1995, the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) purchased theSouthern Pacific Railroad property and rail transportation right of way that runs through the Santa Clara Valley. The purpose for this acquisition is to reestablish a transportation corridor through the Santa Clara Valley that includes the reestablishment of rail service and construction of a Class II bicycle trail.
In April 2007, a construction contract was approved for the second phase of the Piru – Camulos segment. Among the work components were the construction of two retaining walls. One wall, directly behind the houses along Center Street, was designed with a faux rock finish. The other wall was not designed with this finish because it was assumed to be inconspicuous. However, upon construction, its size (375’ by 8’) and location make it easily seen from not only the bicycle trail but the adjacent roadway. Almost immediately after being built, it became a target for graffiti. The estimate from the construction contractor to cover this wall with faux rock was $80,000. As an alternate solution, permission was sought and obtained from the funding sources (Caltrans and California Resource Agency) to amend the project description to include a public art component on the one wall to act as an anti-graffiti covering. Because the construction project bids were lower than anticipated, the addition of the public art keeps the project within the scope of the original project budget approved by these two entities.
-source: County of Ventura
