{"id":490578,"date":"2026-10-09T17:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T17:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/490578\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T17:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T17:32:09","slug":"point-loma-association-unveils-uplifting-new-mural-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/490578\/","title":{"rendered":"Point Loma Association unveils \u2018uplifting\u2019 new mural \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the latest public art installation along and near Rosecrans Street, the Point Loma Association went big.<\/p>\n

On Sept. 20, a new mural by local artist Sarah Stieber and 15 painted utility boxes were unveiled at a community gathering. The PLA fundraised and paid for the commissioning of these works.<\/p>\n

\u201cArt is important in Point Loma, and the whole mission of PLA is to beautify the area \u2026 so we believe artwork is a way to beautify our local community,\u201d said PLA board member Lisa Bolger. \u201cWe want to bring the community together.\u201d<\/p>\n

PLA board chair Jeff Bolster added that public art \u201cdoes more than make a place beautiful, at a time when so much of our culture can feel divided, art gives us something positive to share.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ArtistArtist Sarah Stieber, Point Loma Association board chair Jeff Bolster and past chair Beth Roach at the unveiling of Stieber\u2019s mural. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)<\/p>\n

The wall-sized mural, called \u201cBreathing Room,\u201d depicts a woman in a flowing yellow dress and checkered Vans shoes swimming underwater. It is located on the side of a building at 1053 Rosecrans St. Breathing Room is the second Stieber mural the PLA has commissioned in recent years, the first being on the side of the The Monsaraz Hotel in Point Loma.<\/p>\n

Stieber said when it came to deciding on the mural image she likes to \u201cscope out\u201d the neighborhood in which it would be placed to better understand \u201cthe vibe\u201d that needs to be conveyed.<\/p>\n

In speaking with residents and local businesses, she said, \u201cIt became very clear to me that you all live in the greatest place in San Diego and we needed to create a mural that celebrated the coastal, laid-back energy of this beautiful community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meeting that goal, past PLA president Beth Roach described the mural as \u201cuplifting\u201d and said it \u201creflects the spirit of Point Loma (which is) casual but lively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bolger added that she \u201ccouldn\u2019t be happier\u201d with how the mural turned out.<\/p>\n

Going forward, the PLA has committed to commissioning one mural per year, at sites and with artists to be determined.<\/p>\n

The painting of the utility boxes was timed so they would also be complete for the mural unveiling and ceremony, so guests could take a self-guided walk around the block to see all 16 new pieces. A map of the recently painted mural and locations of painted utility boxes can soon be found at pointloma.org<\/p>\n

\"PaintedPainted utility boxes were unveiled Sept. 20 as part of a Point Loma Association effort to add public art to the Peninsula area. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)<\/p>\n

Roach explained that the PLA had commissioned artists to paint utility boxes in the past, but this year, \u201cWe had the opportunity to make a big impact by doing 15 utility boxes \u2026 all at once, around Cabrillo Elementary School and the Cabrillo Recreation Center.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said this was to \u201cliven the environment and bring a little bit of joy\u201d to the area. The utility boxes in front of the elementary school are themed \u201cexploring\u201d in honor of the school mascot, the Exceptional Explorers. The boxes around the recreation center are themed \u201cin bloom,\u201d Roach said, because \u201cit speaks to the children and the neighborhood being in bloom.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new pieces add to PLA\u2019s growing public art collection throughout the Peninsula area and has been part of the organization\u2019s ongoing beautification efforts since its founding in 1961.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the latest public art installation along and near Rosecrans Street, the Point Loma Association went big. On…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490579,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,3365,2579,2580,74,84,76,75],"class_list":["post-490578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-california","tag-point-loma","tag-point-loma-ob-monthly","tag-point-loma-ob-monthly-news","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-county","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}