The bank is on Ventura BLvd at Laurel Canyon. Millard Sheets by this time (1970) had designed and installed the artwork for dozens of Home Savings and Loans in the Southland. For this bank, he put up four scenes of California History, all iconic, generic, romantic, and really, very functional as an outline of what we all learned in 4th grade.
First, in the Mission Era, we have the good Franciscan friar teaching the native family about the cross.
Second, the Rancho period: Vaqueros chase, lasso, and brand cattle.
Third, the Gold Rush: Men pan for gold along streams.
Finally, the Movies! The industry that ended up defining Southern California to the rest of the world.
Adam Arenson, who took this picture for his blog on the artwork of Home Savings and Loan, points out that the camera is pointing left, possibly at the other images. He raises the question: "Are the images about history, or about movies?"
Studio City got its name after Max Sennett moved his studio--Keystone Pictures--here in 1928, right? So while the Gold Rush may not have touched the area too much, the other images fit perfectly well.
Here is a link to a Flickr picture of the mosaic at night, rather artsy, by C. P. McGann.
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