How a mural of Altadena became a symbol of resilience for one small store, through fire and flood
This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Every time Adriana Molina drives up Lake Avenue to her retro-style women’s clothing shop Sidecca in Altadena, she sees the new outdoor mural she commissioned for the store by muralist and illustrator Annie Bolding.It gives her hope.“I’m here to stay, and this mural solidified my decision to reopen my business,” said Molina on a recent winter day, sitting next to Bolding inside the boutique.
“I grew up in Altadena.The community has motivated me this whole time, and I want them to drive by this mural and smile.”“ALTADENA.” The word — in big white letters, set against layers of blue — appears toward the top of the mural, on the store’s brick wall facing Lake.
Above are the San Gabriel Mountains, painted a deep brown, California poppies and Mariposa Street and Lake Avenue street signs.Below are green grass, a monarch butterfly and Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane.
A bright blue house is on a multicolored striped path in the middle of the mural.Next to it, on a hiking trail, a sign says, “Welcome Home Altadena… With Love, Sidecca.”For Molina and Bolding, the mural is a personal ode to the Eaton fire-ravaged community — art as a message of optimism and healing.When the fire tore through Altadena in January 2025, Sidecca and a few other stores on the north side of Mariposa Street’s bustling Mariposa Junction survived, while the other half-block of businesses burned to the ground.
The fire leveled Bolding’s parents’ house off Lake and the home of one of Molina’s close relatives.Entertainment & Arts For a particular creative community, Altadena represented one of the last great affordable places in L.A.
to raise a family.The Eaton fire left those homes in ashes, and destroyed one vision of the L.A.
dream.Molina staged pop-ups and sold merchandise online during months of remediation, and officially reopened Sidecca’s doors in November as par...