Temple City Public Art Guide by City of Temple City

Temple City Public Art Guide

Public Art plays an invaluable role in the process of community building.

Points of Interest

Historical Society (5954 Kauffman Avenue)

Home to the Temple City Woman’s Club since 1987 and a public history museum since 1980, here you can explore Temple City history and see various historical artifacts celebrating the Temple City Community. The Museum has been newly remodeled and is open every 2nd Sunday of the month from 11am - 2pm by appointment. Admission to the Museum is free. Contact the Historical Society by phone at 626-684-8306 or email historicalsocietyoftc@gmail.com.

Temple City Park (9701 Las Tunas Drive)

The Performing Arts Pavilion is the main stage for the Camellia Festival in the spring, Concerts at the Park during the summer, and Lights on Temple City during the winter. The park also includes a bust dedicated to Walter P. Temple, a Tree Stump carved with the original Temple City Seal, and a Veterans Memorial. The park also includes a

Temple City Library (5939 Golden West)

Twenty-three unfolding acrylic books fill each area of the library. The books are created without a defined beginning or end so they can be viewed from any location in the building. Illustrations depict activities within the library and specific to Temple City like the annual Camellia Festival. The illustrations are created so a person can look up and see themselves in the illustration. The entry of the new Family Place has a set of smaller books and the artwork title and tagline for the library - Let the Adventure Unfold!

Temple City Unified School District (9700 Las Tunas Drive)

Two murals guided my Art Mortimer which were painted by local high school students, one mural depicting famous authors and celebrates the library’s importance in the community. The other mural depicts elements of Temple City’s past and present in a parade down Las Tunas Drive. These pieces were one of the City’s first public art initiatives. Art Mortimer has painted nearly 100 murals, including major public artworks in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and New York. Considered one of the originators of the mural movement in Los Angeles, his work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and publications worldwide.

Performing Arts Pavilion

Veterans Memorial

City Seal Tree Stump

Walter P. Temple Statue

Primrose Park

(5940 Primrose Avenue)

Primrose Park opened in 2022 and was featured as a “Fantastic Playground in SoCal” by the LA Times. The park features two signature ceramic tile paintings from professional artist, Mike Tauber. Along the walkway, you can also find two statue figures of children playing with their pets.

Soaring Teapot

(9001 Las Tunas Drive)

This teapot is a symbol of peace and good fortune, wishing prosperity among all societies. Tenfu Tea’s soaring teapot symbolizes the essence of tea and its power to spread peace to all, creating a civilized and harmonious world.

Las Tunas Drive)

Susan Hertel, a former student of Millard Sheets at Scripps College, composed this gouache study for the mosaic installed on the Chase Bank building near the intersection of Rosemead Boulevard and Las Tunas Drive.

Red Car Train To The Future Sculptures

The two statues on Rosemead Boulevard depict a man and a woman hopping on a trolley car. The two statues are referred to as Red Car Man and Woman, but are officially titled “Jump On” and “Helping Hand,” created by the artist David Stern in 2014. The statues are meant to portray the inhabitants of Temple City as a city flying into the future with optimism.

Cal’s Jewelers Clock

(5824 Temple City Boulevard)

Jewelers’ clocks added charm to Downtown streets and were erected in business districts in many cities from the late 1800s. A few of these clocks still remain with one of them being located on Temple City Boulevard which serves as a landmark for Cal’s Jewelers.

Glass and Stone Mosaic Murals

Artist Carole Oueijan created five glass and stone mosaics portraying life in Temple City for public art installations along one of the city’s major passageways, Rosemead Boulevard. Oueijan worked with the Public Art Commission to finalize the concepts of the five murals, “Embracing the Nature,” “Festivities,” “The Bandstand,” “What We Created” and “A District of Distinguished Schools.”