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By 1980, the land adjacent to Horton Plaza became slated for a
major construction project – the Horton Plaza Mall. The construction
plan contemplated the partial and complete demolition of several
buildings including the Knights of Pythias. By 1982,
the plan became a reality and the Knights of Pythias building was
to be demolished. The demolition and construction coincided
with an already increasing exodus of the arts community from the
Gaslamp Quarter to what is now the East Village, due to the repossession
of several arts lofts and the ever increasing cost of rental space.
Center City Development Corporation (CCDC) encouraged the Community
Arts Center residents to leave the Knights building by offering
a loose, verbal agreement that they would revisit the concept of
a community arts center in the near future. So the Arts Center
residents left, the building was demolished and the Horton Plaza
Mall was constructed. The first creative endeavor of the Community Arts Center was to reincarnate the Eyes as an iconic representation of the artists' consciousness and identity. Torero and a handful of muralists painted a new version of the Eyes on the 10th Street facade of the ReinCarnation Building in December of 1990 but as a guerilla endeavor. Unfortunately, the building was still owned by Union Bank, which held the property in escrow after the last heir of the estate had passed away; in just a few weeks, as was somewhat expected, "the Eyes" was painted out. A couple of months later, another version of the Eyes went back up on the same wall while still owned by the bank, but this time the bank waited several months before they painted it over again. Artists with a mission don’t give up that easily so in a few months, the Eyes were painted on the wall once again; however, this time the move was follwed by the conveyance of the building to mural commissioner Wayne Buss, and the Eyes remained there until November of 2003. Much to the dismay of artists, residents of the ReinCarnation building, and the community, the Eyes have been painted out for the last time. The ReinCarnation building has been sold and will be partially demolished to make way for a hi-rise condominium complex. The only part of the building that will remain is its J Street facade. In an effort to preserve the Eyes or the dream of an Arts Community
in downtown San Diego, we are organizing an initiative to help
preserve this historical art piece through a variety of ways. The
Eyes mural itself is gone, but the dream of preserving
an Arts Community in downtown San Diego is still very much alive.
The first step will be to recreate the Eyes mural as a symbolic
representation of the rebirth of the downtown
Arts Community, but with a promise that this time, it shall
remain a permanent and integral part of the downtown landscape
for all to enjoy and count on for generations to come. 1 | 2 |
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