ESCONDIDO — A recently painted traffic signal box in Old Escondido will keep its artwork depicting a historic home after the city reached a tentative agreement with the home’s owners.
Since 2023, the Escondido Expressions Program has transformed traffic signal boxes into canvases, bringing art to neighborhoods across the city. The program selects designs from local artists and provides grants to complete the work.
About 40 boxes have been finished, including 20 in the past year.
One of them, at Fifth Avenue and Juniper Street, depicts the Albert H. Beach House, regarded as one of Escondido’s treasured historic Victorian homes.
According to Hidden San Diego, the Queen Anne-style home was built in 1896 for Albert H. Beach, who did not live there long. Several notable people, including inventor Henry W. Putnam, lived there over the years.
Over the summer, the property’s owners, Julie Ann and Mark Moore, asked the city to remove the artwork depicting their home immediately.
“Before the artwork was painted, we clearly and repeatedly informed the individuals involved that we did not give permission for our home to be depicted on the traffic signal box,” the Moores wrote in their appeal letter.
According to the appeal, the couple also spoke directly with artist Sean Flannery and told him he did not have their permission.
City public art staff brought the couple’s request to the Public Art Commission and contacted Flannery to request an alternative design. On Aug. 10, the commission voted unanimously to retain the artwork.
In their letter, the homeowners said they made “numerous good-faith attempts” to communicate with the city. They also said they were not notified of the commission’s meeting.
“Our objection is not an objection to public art or to the artist personally. It concerns the City’s decision to proceed with a public artwork depicting our private residence after we had clearly and repeatedly said no,” the couple explained. “At a minimum, we believe the City should have communicated with us, addressed our concerns, and provided notice and an opportunity to be heard before approving or retaining the artwork.”
Flannery also wrote a letter opposing the artwork’s removal.
“At 85 years old, my focus is on sharing my love of art with the Escondido community,” Flannery wrote in his letter. “I would gladly accept a new commission to add more to our neighborhoods, but I will not trade one completed piece for another just to quiet a single complaint.”
Flannery said erasing the artwork would undermine the city’s vetting process. Other community members said removing it would set a dangerous precedent for freedom of expression.
The Moores appealed the commission’s decision to the city. The City Council was scheduled to consider the appeal Sept. 23, but Mayor Dane White announced that the item had been pulled because a “tentative agreement” had been reached that would allow the artwork to stay.
Although pleased with the outcome, White said he felt “disheartened” by the process.
“While I appreciate the many passionate people involved in this, to my knowledge, nobody reached out directly to the homeowner and had a simple conversation,” White said. “Ultimately, that’s what was needed, and listening to the concerns on both sides and finding a reasonable path forward. That conversation has happened, and I’m glad we’ve reached a solution.”
White said the city will develop a policy requiring permission from people whose private property or likeness is depicted in public art.
