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 covering store Sidecca successful Altadena, she sees the caller outdoor mural she commissioned for the store 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 the boutique. “I grew up successful Altadena. The assemblage has motivated maine this full time, and I privation them to thrust by this mural and smile.”

“ALTADENA.” The connection — successful large achromatic letters, acceptable against layers of bluish — appears toward the apical of the mural, connected the store’s ceramic partition facing Lake. Above are the 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 the mediate of the mural. Next to it, connected a hiking trail, a motion says, “Welcome Home Altadena… With Love, Sidecca.”

For Molina and Bolding, the mural is simply a idiosyncratic ode to the Eaton fire-ravaged assemblage — creation arsenic a connection of optimism and healing.

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

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

When the occurrence tore done Altadena successful January 2025, Sidecca and a fewer different stores connected the northbound broadside of Mariposa Street’s bustling Mariposa Junction survived, portion the different half-block of businesses burned to the ground. The occurrence leveled Bolding’s parents’ location disconnected Lake and the 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 the store suffered different blow: flooding and harm during rainstorms successful precocious December. While Molina prepped to temporarily adjacent her store yet again for renovations, Bolding began enactment connected the mural. She started coating connected the one-year day of the occurrence and finished 8 days later.

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

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

Molina, who has worked successful the 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 covering store 5 times by Pasadena Weekly, Sidecca sells amusive vintage-inspired merchandise and clothes, from ‘50s benignant dresses to snazzy magnets, tote bags and sunglasses. A large rainbow zips crossed the apical of 1 of the store’s walls.

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

(Alejandro R. Jimenez)

“A fewer months aft Sidecca opened successful Altadena, my ma walked successful and saw however colorful it was, and said, ‘This reminds maine of my daughter,’ ” Bolding said. “With zero hesitation, my ma 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 alteration spaces.” Known for the agleam murals she creates for brands and shops, Bolding gained attraction connected societal media for a trash bin she painted with thenar trees and stripes. She brought it to the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival arsenic portion of a contention organized by the festival’s sustainability partner, Global Inheritance.

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

“Game recognizes game,” added Bolding, smiling.

Molina wanted to rebrand Sidecca with a caller logo, bags and art, and connected with Bolding astir that and a imaginable mural wrong the store. “I wanted ‘Sidecca’ painted crossed a partition 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 store was closed each time for a vacation lunch. Then the winds picked up and the flames roared. Molina, who lives with her hubby and 2 children connected the Altadena-Pasadena, evacuated with her household to Long Beach and came backmost days later. She knew the store was OK due to the fact that she’d seen it — intact — connected the news.

“As soon arsenic we could travel up to the 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 got a telephone from her ma astir the occurrence successful Altadena. She urged her mom, dada and younger member to evacuate. After they did, their location burned down. Her parents present unrecorded successful a Pasadena apartment.

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

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

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

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

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

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Bolding’s joyful daisies decorated the 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 truly happening?’ ” said Molina. “Then radical started bringing tools and towels. It was an illustration of community.”

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

Since then, the shop’s ceiling has been replaced, and Molina is moving connected trying to regenerate the level — portion continuing to signifier pop-ups and merchantability merchandise online — earlier afloat reopening the 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 the time. And what Annie has done, this mural, is beautiful. It makes maine happy.”