Snoopy bridge in Tarzana gets restoration help for Peanuts character art panels
The Snoopy bridge in Tarzana is getting some much-needed care and attention after a neighbor's cry for help to clean up the graffiti damaged art panels on the bridge has been answered.
By Julie Sharp
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TARZANA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — The Snoopy bridge in Tarzana is getting some much-needed care and attention after a neighbor’s cry for help to clean up the graffiti damaged art panels on the bridge has been answered.
The 1971-built pedestrian bridge is unofficially and affectionately named the Snoopy bridge because of its 12 painted metal panels of Peanuts characters, donated and signed by Charles Schulz.
Charles Donovan walks his neighborhood regularly and noticed the graffitied panels, and took it to heart and went into action to find a way to clean them up.
“I love Snoopy, I love the whole Peanuts characters. It’s kind of a valley iconic thing,” Donavan said.
It was about a year ago when he first tried to rally help, it took some time, a social media post and a Los Angeles City Councilmember to get the ball rolling.
“I just would like to see if any ‘official’ painter from Peanuts can repaint Charlie back to close to the original … Does anyone here have any ideas or connections pertaining to this?,” Donovan wrote on a recent social media post.
He also reached out to Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, and the councilman’s office was able to gain the legal rights from Schulz and fund the restoration of the artwork with a local studio.
“Nothing’s ever simple. When we first looked into it, it wasn’t even registered as a mural. So then there were legal questions of whether we could touch it or couldn’t touch it,” Blumenfield said.
A team of artists from Hattas Studios in Los Angeles is working on the five most damaged panels, including the defaced Charlie Brown.
“There were holes in some of the panels we had to patch. They were very dirty, so they needed some very serious cleaning, there was graffiti on them that had to be removed and areas needed to be touched up and repainted,” Jeanine Hattas Wilson, Hattas Studios CEO and creative director said.
All 12 panels will get graffiti coating as well, to protect the art for generations to come.
“They’re our paintings. They’re public art. It’s ours,” Donavan said.
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