No Beaver on the Mural After All

There is one beaver in Martinez that has been eliminated by the powers that be — the beaver that was part of the , now nearing completion.

Artist Mario Alfaro has been working on the Main Street Plaza mural since June. The design was approved by the City Council in April, and features a variety of historical figures — Joe DiMaggio, John Muir's house, the Alhambra Water Company, and, as a late addition, a scene to represent the city's Italian fishing heritage.

Last month, Heidi Perryman, founder and director of , an organization devoted to defending and caring for the beavers in Alhambra Creek, advised Alfaro that if he wanted to include a picture of a beaver, there were plenty on her website. Working from a photograph of a beaver from the Worth A Dam website, he included one peering up at a fisherman. Then, as of yesterday, the beaver was gone.

"There are obviously lots of questions to ask about this but the obvious seems 'is history repeating itself? Did the city council demand that the beaver (painting) be relocated or exterminated?" Perryman asked.

The answer, according to Leanne Peterson of Main Street Martinez, is not quite that simple.

"During the process of creating the mural, the artist received input from many onlookers. There were a variety of opinions expressed and much discussion about what should or should not be included in the mural. This is good when it comes to public art as it shows the public is engaged and enthused about the mural," Peterson said in an email.

"When the first mural was about halfway complete, the artist was approached by a well-meaning citizen who indicated the train in the mural was not the appropriate train. The citizen brought the artist a photo of the "correct" train and asked him to change it. The artist obliged — not realizing that he was changing a mural concept that has already been approved. Since the new train was not the one in the original concept, the artist was asked to change it back to the train in the rendering that was approved by the Council. When the artist was painting the second mural featuring the Italian fishing heritage, he was asked by another well-meaning citizen to add a beaver. A photo was provided for this revision as well. And again, the artist accommodated the request. Once again, he was subsequently asked to change the mural back to the image that was originally approved by the City. This mural was not a series of disconnected historical images but rather, a thematic mural that featured a specific part of the town’s heritage. The beaver, which has become contemporary icon of modern Martinez, was not part of the Italian fishing history."

So the beaver is not to share a space with historical icons of Martinez, after all.

"Since Martinez already has a track record of trying to eliminate beavers, wouldn’t it be a good idea to let people know beforehand?" Perryman asked. She suggested that Alfaro paint a beaver tile on the Escobar Street Bridge. She said her organziation would pay half, and the city should pay the other half.

Meanwhile, one thing is certain -- Alfaro will probably never say "yes" to painting another mural in Martinez.

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