Murals Find Home, Need Moving Costs

Roberto Salas’ plea to save his two large murals on F Street at a service station that is being demolished was heard by a downtown property owner interested in giving the local artist “an opportunity to have his work seen.”

Salas painted the two billboards, one of which depicts San Diego changing amid new development, two years ago on property owned by former City Councilman Tom Hom. They now face demolition to make room for a 300-unit residential hotel on F Street between 9th and 10th avenues.

Bob Shapiro, president of Mitchell Investment, read about the murals in The Times last week and contacted Salas to offer space on property his company owns in the 1800 block of Main Street, which abuts Harbor Drive near Crosby Street.

“My own personal interest is in preserving the work,” said Shapiro, who is a trustee of the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art and belongs to the city’s Public Arts Advisory Council. “Roberto is a quality artist, and I would like him to have an opportunity to have his work seen.”

Shapiro, a collector of contemporary art, said he is familiar with Salas’ plans for an 18-foot concrete palm tree that awaits final approval by the San Diego Unified Port District before being placed on Harbor Island.

“I think that any good installment of public art benefits the city,” said Shapiro, adding that Salas’ murals would be highly visible from his property, which is close to the trolley line and the new convention center. The property houses a boatyard, two businesses that supply tuna-fishing fleets and the offices of the Fisherman’s Union of America.

Salas, a graduate art student at UC San Diego, acknowledged Tuesday that he had “lost a lot of hope” for finding a new home for the billboards, adding that he must now raise $2,000 to dismantle the murals before their scheduled demolition Thursday.