About six months after Reseda resident Kirk Donovan started making phone calls, seeking help to save the damaged and vandalized artwork on the Snoopy Bridge in Tarzana, Los Angeles officials on Monday, June 10 unveiled the restored images of “Peanuts” characters signed by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz.
Donovan was among dozens of residents and community members who came to celebrate the unveiling of repaired artwork featuring characters from Schulz’s “Peanuts” cartoon on the bridge over Wilbur Avenue in Tarzana.
He watched on Monday as students from nearby Tarzana Elementary School had the honor of pulling down a sheet that was hiding the repaired drawings, and Donovan became emotional.
“Everything looked fantastic,” he said. “It was very touching and hard not to get a little choked up. There’s a kid in every one of us.”
Jeanine Hattas, the founder of Hattas Studios, said it took a team of five artists two weeks to restore the artwork panels.
“I’m grateful to Kirk for getting this done,” she said. “I’m grateful to the city for moving forward with this.”
Her team restored five out of 12 artworks and touched up three additional ones. In the next two months, she added, artists will begin working on the remaining panels that need restoration.
The renovation work was funded by the office of a Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield who secured $20,000 in funding and contracted with Hattas Studios to restore the cartoons. The studio workers covered them with anti-graffiti coating to protect them from vandalism.
During the ceremony, a man in his 30s and his father approached Donovan and told him how they drove from Costa Mesa to witness the unveiling. They grew up in Tarzana and remembered the popular artwork.
“Getting (the panels) done was such a cherry on top of the cake,” Donovan said. “And then having all the kids there, that was the cake. It was just perfect.”
To celebrate the unveiling of the restored cartoons, Donovan was planning to host a BBQ party for family and friends at his Reseda home.
“I’m happy about the fanfare and the spotlight, but this was for Charles Schultz and Charlie Brown, not for me,” he said.
