LONG BEACH MURAL 1984

“New Dawn”
1984 Summer Olympics Public Art Program
Sears Building, Downtown Long Beach, California

Project Details

Year: 1984
Medium: Acrylic on wood
Dimensions: 8′ H × 20′ W
Weight: 200 lbs
Program: Long Beach Summer Youth Employment Program, 1984 Summer Olympics
Original Location: Sears, Roebuck & Co. building, Long Beach Boulevard at 5th Street
Status: Destroyed, 1986

Historical Context

In 1984, Abel Alejandre created multiple murals as part of the Long Beach Summer Youth Employment Program in conjunction with the public art initiatives celebrating the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. At age 15, these projects marked Alejandre’s entry into professional artistic practice and his first significant public artworks. The “New Dawn” mural was installed on the historic Sears building in downtown Long Beach, positioned along the official Olympic torch relay route.

Of the several murals Alejandre created during this period, “New Dawn” is the only one for which both the original preparatory study and photographic documentation of the completed mural survive. This makes it a particularly significant piece of archival evidence in documenting the artist’s earliest professional work.

The work was prominently displayed as thousands of spectators gathered to witness the passing of the Olympic flame through Long Beach. The mural’s placement at this significant civic moment established Alejandre’s early engagement with public art and community-oriented practice, themes that would continue throughout his four-decade career.

The Work

Executed in acrylic on wood panels, the 8-by-20-foot mural represented Alejandre’s emerging visual language at the outset of his artistic development. The project is particularly notable given the artist’s youth at the time of execution, demonstrating exceptional early technical ability and the capacity to execute large-scale public work while still in high school.

Participation in the Summer Youth Employment Program provided the young artist with formative experience in professional artistic practice, including collaboration with city officials, adherence to public art guidelines, and the technical challenges of creating durable outdoor installations. These early experiences would prove foundational to Alejandre’s later major public commissions, including his 2012–2016 Metro Rail project.

Provenance and Loss

Following the Olympics, the mural remained in place on the Sears building as part of the City of Long Beach’s public art collection. However, the work was destroyed in 1986 when the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency demolished the 58-year-old Sears building as part of a downtown redevelopment initiative. The demolition, which began in June 1986 and concluded in August of that year, resulted in the loss of the entire seven-acre site to make way for planned retail development.

According to Los Angeles Times reporting from June 1986, the Sears store had closed in 1978 due to declining sales and security concerns. The Redevelopment Agency acquired the property in 1985 with the intention of clearing the site entirely. The main building’s demolition was expedited due to ongoing issues with vandalism, fire risk, and maintenance costs.

Archival Significance

While the physical work no longer exists, photographic documentation and the original preparatory study preserve evidence of the mural and its context within the Olympic torch relay route. These materials, including photographs of torch runners passing the Sears building, provide rare documentation of Alejandre’s earliest public work and offer insight into the artist’s trajectory from youth program participant to established fine artist. The survival of these materials is particularly noteworthy given that documentation of Alejandre’s other 1984 Olympic murals has been lost.

The 1984 Olympics mural represents a significant data point in understanding Alejandre’s artistic development. The project demonstrates extraordinarily early achievement and establishes a through-line from his public art origins to his current studio practice, which continues to engage themes of community, representation, and cultural memory.

Legacy

The destruction of “New Dawn” reflects the ephemeral nature of much public art, particularly works tied to temporary civic events or sites subject to urban redevelopment. Despite its loss, the project remains a crucial element of Alejandre’s professional history, marking the beginning of a sustained engagement with public audiences and large-scale work that continues to inform his practice today.

The 1984 mural stands as the earliest documented example of Alejandre’s participation in civic art initiatives and his commitment to creating work that engages broad public audiences, a commitment that would later manifest in his Metro Rail commission and ongoing community-oriented projects. The trajectory from Summer Youth Employment Program participant at age 15 to commissioned public artist underscores the remarkable consistency and longevity of Alejandre’s artistic career.