How A Mural Of Altadena Became A Symbol Of Resilience For One Small Store, Through Fire And Flood

Every clip Adriana Molina drives up Lake Avenue to her retro-style women’s clothing shop Sidecca successful Altadena, she sees nan caller outdoor mural she commissioned for nan shop by muralist and illustrator Annie Bolding. It gives her hope.

“I’m present to stay, and this mural solidified my determination to reopen my business,” said Molina connected a caller wintertime day, sitting adjacent to Bolding wrong nan boutique. “I grew up successful Altadena. The organization has motivated maine this full time, and I want them to thrust by this mural and smile.”

“ALTADENA.” The connection — successful large achromatic letters, group against layers of bluish — appears toward nan apical of nan mural, connected nan store’s ceramic wall facing Lake. Above are nan San Gabriel Mountains, painted a heavy brown, California poppies and Mariposa Street and Lake Avenue thoroughfare signs. Below are greenish grass, a monarch butterfly and Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane. A agleam bluish location is connected a multicolored striped way successful nan mediate of nan mural. Next to it, connected a hiking trail, a motion says, “Welcome Home Altadena… With Love, Sidecca.”

For Molina and Bolding, nan mural is simply a individual ode to nan Eaton fire-ravaged organization — creation arsenic a connection of optimism and healing.

A car passes by nan caller Altadena mural connected nan broadside of Sidecca apparel shop, which commissioned nan portion aft occurrence and floods devastated nan community.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

When nan occurrence tore done Altadena successful January 2025, Sidecca and a fewer different stores connected nan northbound broadside of Mariposa Street’s bustling Mariposa Junction survived, while nan different half-block of businesses burned to nan ground. The occurrence leveled Bolding’s parents’ location disconnected Lake and nan location of 1 of Molina’s adjacent relatives.

Molina staged pop-ups and sold merchandise online during months of remediation, and officially reopened Sidecca’s doors successful November arsenic portion of Mariposa Junction’s larger comeback. Then nan shop suffered different blow: flooding and harm during rainstorms successful precocious December. While Molina prepped to temporarily adjacent her shop yet again for renovations, Bolding began activity connected nan mural. She started coating connected nan one-year day of nan occurrence and vanished 8 days later.

“On nan time I started it, it was truthful acold and windy, and I was frightened being up connected nan ladder,” said Bolding. “But getting to talk to organization members while I was coating was very special. People were excited and honking arsenic they drove by. That night, I drove up to nan batch wherever my parents’ spot was, and I stood location and each nan feelings flooded back.”

The mural’s root communicative is that of 2 imaginative women bound by spot and a desire to springiness back.

Molina, who has worked successful nan manner manufacture for much than 30 years, opened Sidecca’s Altadena spot successful 2023, aft closing its longtime Pasadena location. Voted Pasadena’s champion women’s clothing shop 5 times by Pasadena Weekly, Sidecca sells nosy vintage-inspired merchandise and clothes, from ‘50s style dresses to snazzy magnets, tote bags and sunglasses. A large rainbow zips crossed nan apical of 1 of nan store’s walls.

A show successful Sidecca successful 2023, 2 years earlier nan Eaton occurrence devastated Altadena.

(Alejandro R. Jimenez)

“A fewer months aft Sidecca opened successful Altadena, my mom walked successful and saw really colorful it was, and said, ‘This reminds maine of my daughter,’ ” Bolding said. “With zero hesitation, my mom said to Adriana, ‘Here’s her Instagram. This is my daughter’s stuff.’ ”

Bolding, who goes by Disco Day Designs, calls herself “a joyful creator who loves to intentionally toggle shape spaces.” Known for nan agleam murals she creates for brands and shops, Bolding gained attraction connected societal media for a trash bin she painted pinch thenar trees and stripes. She brought it to nan 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival arsenic portion of a title organized by nan festival’s sustainability partner, Global Inheritance.

“I fixated connected nan trash can,” said Molina. “I looked astatine Annie’s murals and was like, ‘Oh, she has to do thing successful present for us.’ ”

“Game recognizes game,” added Bolding, smiling.

Molina wanted to rebrand Sidecca pinch a caller logo, bags and art, and connected pinch Bolding astir that and a imaginable mural wrong nan store. “I wanted ‘Sidecca’ painted crossed a wall arsenic an acronym that stands for style, individuality, diversity, expression, community, civilization and art,” she said. “That’s who we are.”

Then came Jan. 7, 2025.

The shop was closed each time for a vacation lunch. Then nan winds picked up and nan flames roared. Molina, who lives pinch her hubby and 2 children connected nan Altadena-Pasadena, evacuated pinch her family to Long Beach and came backmost days later. She knew nan shop was OK because she’d seen it — intact — connected nan news.

“As soon arsenic we could travel up to nan shop, we went,” Molina said. “There were ashes each over.”

Bolding and her hubby were successful Palm Springs fixing up an AirBnb they cohost erstwhile Bolding sewage a telephone from her mom astir nan occurrence successful Altadena. She urged her mom, dada and younger relative to evacuate. After they did, their location burned down. Her parents now unrecorded successful a Pasadena apartment.

When Molina started trading Altadena-themed merch connected Sidecca’s website, Bolding donated 3 designs, including 1 pinch lively retro daisies. In July, she wrote an email to Molina reviving nan thought of a mural, but extracurricular versus inside, arsenic an ode to Altadena.

“It felt for illustration thing I could do to bring joy, let’s go,” said Molina. “And I really wanted a small location successful there, and for it to say, ‘Welcome home.’ ”

The mural would beryllium Bolding’s first nationalist portion of creation connected a main street.

“Lake ever felt for illustration nan roadworthy going home,” she said. “That rainbow roadworthy successful nan mural, starring to nan mountains, is truthful symbolic. Very ‘Wizard of Oz.’ The mountains, their silhouette, person ever felt majestic, safe, and why it was truthful heartbreaking anytime to spot them burn. To me, they consciousness for illustration mother.”

Muralist Annie Bolding stands successful beforehand of her caller Altadena mural connected nan broadside of nan Sidecca apparel shop. The activity is Bolding’s first portion of nationalist creation connected a main street.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Bolding’s joyful daisies dressed up nan Sidecca tote container fixed to customers astatine November’s reopening, conscionable earlier December’s aggravated rainstorms. Water gushed done Sidecca’s ceiling. Molina and her worker Manisa Ianakiev were overwhelmed.

“We were like, ‘Is this really happening?’ ” said Molina. “Then group started bringing devices and towels. It was an illustration of community.”

Bolding planned to commencement coating nan mural Jan. 4, during nan Altadena Forever Run, but rainfall swept through. After Molina’s landlord installed a plywood base, Bolding started connected nan mural respective days later.

Since then, nan shop’s ceiling has been replaced, and Molina is moving connected trying to switch nan level — while continuing to shape pop-ups and waste merchandise online — earlier afloat reopening nan bricks-and-mortar boutique this spring.

“People say, ‘Every clip I spell into your store, I conscionable get happy. I’m successful a amended mood,’ ” said Molina. “I get that each nan time. And what Annie has done, this mural, is beautiful. It makes maine happy.”