Trujillo voices desire for Carpenters statue in Downey

Carpenters fans at the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. Councilman Mario Trujillo is spearheading an effort to have a Carpenters statue installed in Downey. (Photo by Kathy Perez)

DOWNEY — Councilman Mario Trujillo recently made public his desire to erect a statue in honor of the Carpenters within the city.

At a special city council meeting held Feb. 24, Trujillo announced his intention to establish a monument to the iconic pop musical duo, who hailed from Downey. He asked city staff to begin looking into the cost, funding, details, and potential locations for the project at Tuesday’s council meeting.

“Pop music has got to be one of the greatest contributions the United States has made to the arts in the world,” Trujillo told the Downey Patriot. “When you have an international pop group – because for the time they were still pop – from here, I think that’s something we haven’t tapped into.”

Trujillo aims to make Downey a “destination city” while still “preserving the sanctity of our neighborhoods.” He said he believes the addition of a Carpenters statue could not only help in that mission, but also make the city a hub for Carpenters fans worldwide.

“I think the statue is going to bring people from across maybe the world, but definitely the United States,” said Trujillo. “I want it to be somewhere where it’s accessible, market friendly, because it’s going to be on social media and hopefully people will tag us.”

Logistics around the project are non-existent at this point in time but Trujillo said he hopes to have something in front of the council to consider by the end of the year.