The restored mural, ‘Delivery at the Cottage Hotel’ by Manuel Cruz III was unveiled April 22.
Story and photos by Neil Farrell
A project to restore a historic mural in Cayucos is wrapping up now and the finished artwork was unveiled April 22 by the Bay Area artist hired to bring it back to life.
Called, “Delivery at the Cottage Hotel,” the original mural was done in 1993 by John Meng and facilitated by the Cayucos Mural Society.
It was painted on plywood panels and installed on the southern side of the historic Way Station building on Ocean Avenue. But high winds blew off and destroyed one of the mural panels in 2022 leaving a gaping hole in the image.
The property owners, Maryellen Eisner and husband Hank, sought to restore the mural and after several months of searching, found Manuel Cruz, III, a professional artist and muralist from the Bay Area.
For the past few months, Cruz has been hard at work recreating the mural using an original artwork by Meng as a guide. On the 22nd friends of the Eisners and Cruz gathered to see the unveiling and toast the artwork with a little champagne from the Lunada Garden Bistro, which occupies the main part of the Way Station complex.
In a previous interview, Cruz, who hails from Oklahoma, said that he comes from a family of artists and musicians and is fortunate he is able to make a living doing what he loves and does best — making art in a variety of mediums.
This new mural is the same image as the original, but Cruz’ style is different. His version of the image seems smoother and more lifelike, most notably with the faces of the team of horses in the mural. It’s the eyes, they seem to have a spark of life in them.
For examples of Cruz’ work, see his website at: www.manuelcruz.com. If readers want to have a mural painted at their home or business, they can call Cruz at 510-366-4278.
Also, there’s a Go Fund Me account set up to help the Eisners, who are both in their 90s, to pay for the mural, see: Gofund.me/9890af53 to contribute.
