Rainbow-colored fruits and veggies pop up around Hillcrest

By Morgan M. Hurley | SDUN Assistant Editor

Residents and visitors of Hillcrest may have noticed an artful addition to the neighborhood recently, thanks to a new project launched by the Hillcrest Business Association (HBA).

Deemed the “Utility Box Art Project,” it started with acquiring colorful, high-resolution digital photography of fruits and vegetables, printing those images out on 64-by-58-inch, all-weather material and wrapping the final product around a series of high-profile, traffic-signal control boxes.

The idea came after HBA Executive Director Benjamin Nicholls saw an electrical box in Point Loma outfitted in a similar fashion.

John Thurston, a third-generation Hillcrest native who currently lives in City Heights, is a local photographer who joined the HBA beautification committee at the first of the year. Once Nicholls floated the idea of beautifying area utility boxes to the committee, Thurston said he saw an opportunity to make a difference with his art and formulated a pitch for the project, offering his services at just $1 per box.

“As a gay man growing up in San Diego where do you hang out?” Thurston said. “This was the center of the universe. I’m kinda thrilled to, not really leave my mark, but my contribution.”

A retired aerospace technical editor, Thurston grew up with a journalist father and was always tinkering with cameras, but he said it was the digital age of photography that finally bit him for good. After taking photography classes from South Bark Dog Wash co-owner Lisa Vela at City College, Thurston now runs a thriving business and even teaches classes of his own.

Thurston’s work did come with a hitch; all boxes had to have his web address – jthurstonphoto.com – identified on one side, and the final contract included HBA’s website as well.

Prior to submitting his proposal to the HBA, Thurston said he set out with his phone to do a layman’s survey – though quite sophisticated thanks to today’s applications – of all the electrical-type utility boxes within the HBA footprint.

Once all the boxes – which included various sizes from San Diego Gas & Electric, the City, Cox Communications and AT&T – were photographed and geo-tagged, Thurston recommended starting with the 10 traffic-signal boxes as they were tall, uniform in nature and present at every major intersection.

The project was quickly approved, and soon Impact Visual Arts (IVA) in Mission Valley and Howard Sign Services in El Cajon, Calif. were brought on board as part of the implementation team, with Thurston assigned as the project lead.

After fruits and vegetable images were decided upon to promote the Hillcrest Farmers’ Market, Thurston said the HBA board suggested he attempt “a rainbow motif” when considering his subjects. Although each color is represented, he said laying them out that way was “a little tricky.”

What also was not easy, he said, was preparing the utility boxes for IVA’s polyester/natural fiber, eco-friendly UV coating. Each stainless steel box takes up to four hours of preparation prior to the installation.

“It became the biggest expense,” he said. “It’s gotta be smooth as a baby’s bottom to get it right, and Howard [Sign Services] has really gotten it down to a science.”

Deciding the location of some of the specific fruit and veggie images also took on meaning. The first installation, at the corner of Sixth and Robinson avenues on June 27 was a photo of kiwi fruit, a nod to Nicholls, who hails fro

Seven more “wraps” have been installed along University Avenue: zucchinis at the corner of Normal Street, habanero chilies at Richmond Street, strawberries at Vermont Street, heirloom tomatoes at 10th Avenue, Thai peppers in front of the Hillcrest Fire Station at Ninth Avenue, blueberries at Fifth Avenue and cherries at Third Avenue.

A red leaf lettuce image has been installed at the corner of Washington and Normal streets, and the 10th and final installation, eggplant, will take place at Washington Street and Fourth Avenue.

IVA’s material won’t fade, is “tagging” resistant, and should last for up to 10 years, Thurston said.

For consistency, the HBA will vote in November regarding how to wrap the remaining 14 utility boxes with native plant images, and Thurston said he expects to get compensated for that phase.

With this project now under his belt, Thurston plans to approach other neighborhoods with the idea, since many are undergrounding their electrical lines, a process that creates utility boxes in its wake.