Santa Monica City Hall, Donald B. Parkinson and Joseph M. Estep, Architects 1938-39

Santa Monica City Hall, Donald B. Parkinson and Joseph M. Estep, Architects 1938-39, a photo by Michael Locke on Flickr.

Designed by Architects Donald Parkinson and Joseph Estep between 1938-1939 in the Art-Deco-Moderne Style. The murals were painted by Stanton MacDonald-Wright, in a revolutionary new method of painting called “petrachrome.”, with the paint being mixed with crushed tile, marble, and granite, a technique recognized as an important development in the evolution of mural painting.

MacDonald-Wright was the director of the Southern California Division of the Federal Works Progress Administration form 1935-1942. He taught at Otis Art School where one of his students was Henry Lion, the sculptor of the Cabrillo statue (San Pedro). Located at 1685 Main Street in Santa Monica.