WPA Mural Finds New Home
The second of two nearly 80-year-old murals rediscovered in Hardy Tower was unveiled, Oct. 5, in the SDSU Library.
SDSU alumnus George Sorenson painted the fresco in 1936 as a student, which depicts the tuna canning industry that was critical to San Diego’s economy in the 1930s.
Sorenson’s mural, San Diego Industry, was one of two uncovered during routine maintenance and replacement of ceiling tiles in SDSU’s Hardy Memorial Tower in 2004, which housed the university’s original library.
Seth Mallios, chair of the SDSU anthropology department, led the effort to have the murals removed from Hardy Tower, and restored and relocated to a more visible campus location. The mural is now located in reference services on the first floor of the SDSU Library.
“It’s not just paint on plaster; it’s history, it’s community, it’s culture,” Mallios said.
Project team
Mallios credited the many people who worked on the project, including the maintenance teams that discovered the hidden murals, former library dean Connie Vinita Dowell, interim library dean Jon Cawthorne, university administrators and donors.
Susan Keim Weber, wife of SDSU President Stephen Weber, worked closely with Mallios and the
Friends of the Library, a philanthropic group, to raise the funds needed to complete the project.
The restoration process took several years and more than $60,000, all of which was raised through private donations from the Presidents Leadership Fund, Parker Foundation, Friends of the Library, and Steven and Carolyn Conner.
“The mural is a representation of the connection between the San Diego community and this university,” President Weber said.
More about the artist
Sorenson was a native San Diegan and a graduate of San Diego High School. After graduating from what was then called San Diego State College, he became a professor and eventually chaired the university’s art department.
For more about the murals, read the updated 360 Magazine story about the 2004 discoveries and initial restoration work.
