Mural of Mission San Juan Capistrano Painted over

Being both from the San Fernando Valley originally and from San Juan Capistrano currently, it kind of pains me to have not known this ... but there used to be a colorful depiction of our very own Mission San Juan Capistrano in Lake Balboa.

Of course, I didn't even know Lake Balboa existed as it's one of several neighborhoods which have re-branded itself since I left in the '80s as "Not-Van Nuys" and "Not-Reseda."

So according to LA Observed, this mural was on the corner of  Vanowen Street and Louise Avenue (Not-Reseda north of actual Encino) and was sponsored by Bert and Jane Boeckmann, the owners of Galpin Ford, a mega auto dealership in the Valley.

It was painted by Alfredo Diaz Flores, a noted Los Angeles-based muralist who died in 2008, just four years before completing "Mission San Juan Capistrano."

Seeing how the Valley has its own charming mission, it was an interesting choice. We really ARE the jewel of the mission.  

Thankfully, the news website had some great photos of "before" and a pretty depressing "after" for posterity. 

Still, for a San Juan Capistraneño (San Juan Capistraninian? San Juan Capistranite?), it's pretty jarring.