An aging patriotic mural on the Prado Dam near Corona —  visible to millions of drivers traveling east on the 91 Freeway — has been called the “gateway” or “marquee to the Inland Empire.”

And after graffiti, lead paint concerns, and a long legal battle with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — which controls the Prado Dam — the nearly 50-year-old mural’s long-awaited restoration is about to happen — using the same design as in its 1976 debut.

The Bicentennial Freedom Mural on the dam’s spillway is the size of six Mt. Rushmore monuments, at 120 feet tall and 664 feet long, with a 40-degree slope.

With a faded liberty bell and 13 stars representing the 13 colonies, the red-, white-and-blue-mural was painted by Corona High School students to mark the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. Its slogan celebrated “200 Years of Freedom.”

That year, the Vietnam War was a fresh memory and Gerald Ford was president, promising to mark the nation’s patriotism with public events and large-scale displays. Ford knew about the freedom mural idea conceived by high school students, and later said that it should be preserved, according to the Friends of Prado Dam Mural’s website.

“It’s the largest patriotic mural in America, and one of the most beloved,” said landscape architect Ron Kammeyer, one of the mural’s original designers and a Corona High graduate. “More than a third of a million vehicles look at it every day.”

But in early 2015, the fate of the mural near the 91 and 71 freeways was unclear after the Army Corps of Engineers announced plans to begin removing the fading, gigantic painting. Officials wanted to raise the spillway’s height and start long-planned improvements to the flood dam, first built in 1941, and surrounding the Prado Basin.

Kammeyer and the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles sued in May 2015 seeking to end those plans. Soon after, as crews were ready to begin removing the faded mural, a federal judge issued an injunction temporarily blocking the Corps from altering or destroying the mural. The mural did not qualify for preservation as a national landmark, officials said in 2019.

Kammeyer said he fought “tenaciously,” rounding up thousands of letters in support of keeping the mural.

“I showed up in court and there were all these lawyers … you’d think I was going to blow up the dam. I’m just trying to restore it,” Kammeyer said. “President Ford said that America’s bicentennial was the highlight of his presidency. He said the mural needed a fresh coat of paint … For me, (this) represents 20-plus years of struggle, of making that promise to our president. It reminds people of that moment in time.”

In April, U.S. District Judge Jesus G. Bernal dismissed the lawsuit and lifted the federal injunction. Though supporters were initially alarmed, the organizers have since worked with Army Corps officials to arrange for the mural to be fully repainted, with work to begin later this year.

Corps spokesperson Dena O’Dell said in April that the judge’s ruling means the federal agency “can proceed with removing and abating the lead-based paint on the Prado Dam mural.”

Riverside County spokesperson Brooke Federico said that the county’s flood control district is “committed to working with federal and local partners to get the mural restored.”

Federal and county leaders met with mural advocates to sign an agreement and to discuss a plan and timeline to begin the restoration.

The groups will first remove the toxic lead paint and other damage before repainting, Kammeyer said.

The goal is to have the mural “completely restored, hopefully, by July 4 of 2023,” he said.

Earlier this year, Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, secured $2.5 million in federal dollars to remove the lead paint on the spillway, Calvert spokesperson Jason Gagnon wrote in an email.

The money will be used by the Army Corps of Engineers to remove paint and graffiti and begin the restoration, with aid from the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Orange County Water District and the non-profit Friends of the Prado Dam Mural.

In a Tuesday, Aug. 30, statement, Calvert — who once called the mural “more graffiti than mural” and a “bad image” — expressed his support. He called it “as a source of pride for Corona residents and everyone in our region.”

“The desire to restore the mural to its original condition is something that unites people across the political spectrum, and I’m thrilled that I’ve been able to contribute along with the other stakeholders to make that restoration a reality,” Calvert said.

Related links

Prado Dam patriotic mural near Corona loses legal protection, but could be repainted
Riverside County supervisors back saving Prado Dam mural, citing its ‘patriotic nature’
With Prado Dam’s Bicentennial mural appearing doomed, supporters say they’re not giving up
Keep bicentennial mural on Prado Dam, public pleads
Prado Dam rated a ‘high urgency’ risk after spillway problems discovered

Peter Usle, of the Friends of the Prado Dam Mural — which is leading fundraising efforts — said five city councils — Corona, Eastvale, Norco, Chino and Chino Hills — signed resolutions “in support of returning the mural to its former glory.”

“Not only does it express the ideals of our nation, it’s also been accepted as public art, and unlike other monuments of its kind, no one’s face is on it. So when viewing it, it touches you directly,” Usle said. “This beloved mural, like the 1976 Bicentennial itself, brings people together with the spirit of volunteerism, friendship and working together. Like so many have told us, I know I’m home when I see it.”

A private groundbreaking ceremony will be staged at the Prado Dam spillway Thursday, Sept. 8, with federal and county officials and some original mural painters from Corona High.

Donations for the mural’s restoration can be made online at pradodammural.com.

Staff writer David Downey contributed to this report.