Without fail, the same thing happens every time Don Lamkin cruises Downey Avenue towards 2nd Street.
“There literally hasn’t been one time where I drove past and someone’s not taking some kind of picture [of Downey Doodle-icious],” Lamkin says, referring to the giant art mural he painted in 2014. “It’s surprising. I never expected anything like this to happen. It’s humbling.”
With its bright colors, cartoonish design, and larger-than-life icons, Downey Doodle-icious has become its own attraction. People walk to Porto’s, but Downey Doodle-icious stops them in their tracks.
Students study the mural. Teens take selfies in front of it. Politicians use the mural as portrait backdrops.
It’s a textbook example of art bringing a community together.
Downey’s Art in Public Places policy has resulted in a scattering of sculptures and murals throughout the city, some more accessible than others. There are also art pieces commissioned by private property owners, and some probably installed under the cover of darkness.
Below is a look at some of Downey’s public art. If I missed something, please let me know at eric@thedowneypatriot.com.
1.) Downey Doodle-icious Location: Downey Avenue, between Firestone Boulevard and 2nd Street
Installed in 2014, Downey Doodle-icious has already become an iconic part of downtown Downey. Don Lamkin originally created Downey Doodle-icious as a raffle prize to benefit the Downey Museum of Art. He created 10 prints, and all sold within 3 hours at the Downey Street Faire.
Lamkin was later asked by the City Council to paint Downey Doodle-icious on the side of the Porto’s Bakery parking structure. Lamkin agreed, with help from Hector Beltran, Jorge del Toro and Liz Moran.
Lamkin doesn’t currently have plans for any more public art in Downey, but there’s one project he would be excited to complete.
“I always thought it would be great somewhere on school district headquarters to have the same style pop art and include every single school mascot or logo,” Lamkin said. “I thought that would be really cool.”
2.) Poseidon, Greek God Location: 9655 Lakewood Blvd.
This 8-ft. fiberglass statue is titled “Reveal” and depicts Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. According to mythology, Poseidon “was god of the sea, earthquakes, storms, and horses and is considered one of the most bad-tempered, moody and greedy Olympian gods.”
The sculpture was created by Jameel Haiat, a designer at Walt Disney.
3.) Downey Depot Location: 8150 Nance St.
As far as I can tell, this mural doesn’t have a title. It was installed in 2001 and created by artist Terry Schoonhoven, whose work also appears at Union Station. It’s located at the Downey Depot, near Firestone and La Reina.
4.) Dona’s Location: 8636 Imperial Hwy.
This painting isn’t particularly complicated or exotic, but it’s fun and received a ton of attention at Dona’s Donuts’ height of popularity earlier this year. The backdrop is still a popular image on Instagram.
5.) The Flamingo Location: 11006 New St.
This nearly 6-ft. tall pink flamingo showed up after Sandoval Bail Bonds closed up shop earlier this year. The building is now vacant and being prepared for a new tenant.
After doing some digging, this appears to be the work of Hector Ponce. He’s been called “the Warhol of the walls” for his street art in Los Angeles.
7.) Good Vibes Only Location: 11405 Paramount Blvd.
Located on the side of boutique fashion store Gypsy Queen, this painting was done by painter and tattoo artist Alfonso Garcia. He owns a private studio in Los Angeles.
8.) LeBron Location: 8027 Firestone Blvd.
The uniform doesn’t have a number, so I can’t say definitively that it’s LeBron. But yeah, it’s LeBron.
This 280-ft. painting was done by Long Beach artist JC Ro, who has completed similar projects throughout Los Angeles.
9.) LOVE Location: 9102 Firestone Blvd.
It’s isolated and can be difficult to find, but this mural was created by LOVE Crew. It’s located on the side of Research Vintage, a consignment store near Big 5.
It’s quite the juxtaposition, a piece of abstract art outside a smog check facility.
Titled “Descending Sphere,” this sculpture was installed in 2008 by artist Jon Seeman, whose work can be found around the world, including in Dallas, Las Vegas and Tokyo.
11.) John Gately Downey Location: 11111 Brookshire Ave.
This bust of John Gately Downey was created by Irish sculptor Mark Rode and installed in 2010. An identical sculpture exists and it’s located in Roscommon County, Ireland, Downey’s birthplace.
12.) Fallen Officer Memorial Location: 11111 Brookshire Ave.
I hesitated to include this as “art,” but I think it depicts beauty in its own unique way.
The statue pays memory to the two Downey police officers who died in the line of duty. Most striking is that the monument includes space for future names.
13.) Veterans Memorial Location: 11111 Brookshire Ave.
This art piece was installed in 2012 in honor of Downey’s military veterans. The sculpture was created by James T. Russell and is modeled after the veterans monument in Cerritos.
14.) Bumblebee Location: 8241 2nd St.
The artist known as Bumblebee has been known to create illicit art pieces under the cover of darkness. While this painting was also done at night, it was created with the full permission of the property owner, so it still stands today.
This 20-ft. artwork is located on the side of the Coba Cabana Hair Salon, just around the corner from Downey Doodle-icious.