Berliner Architects recently completed construction on a new middle and high school for Alliance Public Schools on First Street in East Los Angeles. The design of the project was driven by the desire to reinforce, invigorate, and revitalize the surrounding community. The two schools making up the First Street Campus are: Morgan McKinzie HS and College Ready Middle Academy 8.
For years the site had been home to the First Street Store, a department store that played an important role on this street, which is lined with two story buildings with storefront retail on the first floor and apartments above. The store is unique in that its façade contains 17 tile murals (5’x11’) depicting the Chicano history of this largely Hispanic community. The former owner of the store commissioned local Chicano artist Johnny D. Gonzales to create the murals, titled "The Story of Our Struggle," in 1974. There is also a large mural containing the initials of the store: F.S.S. Berliner Architects wanted to preserve the murals, which were featured in LACMA's exhibition "Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico 1915-1985," and used them as inspiration for the design of the school, mirroring the murals' arches throughout the architecture of the buildings.
View Original