Artist:
Address:
8680 California Ave. South Gate, CA 90280. (click to view)
Size:
10' X 12' ft
Medium:
unglazed decorative tiles, kiln-fired
Date:
1938
Type:
Historic
Description / Interpretation:
This mosaic of scholars and written languages dating back to neolithic times contains inscriptions in Chinese characters, Phoenician letters, Babylonian cuneiforms, and Egyptian hieroglyphics. This small community center was a public library until a new one opened in the early 1970s. In 1983 the building was declared South Gate's first official cultural landmark in order to save it from demolition. It currently is home to an art gallery and a museum of local history.
Photo: © Robin Dunitz