Earlier this month I visited the grave of our city's founding father Dr. David Burbank at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles. Today I stopped by the Burbank Central Library to photograph his bust, which has been on display there since 1978.
Dr. David Burbank by Rick Dorary
The 21" bronze bust, created by artist Rick Doray, sits atop a cement structure that contains four time capsules that were sealed on July 4, 1977 by the Burbank Bicentennial Committee. Each has separate opening dates, Independence Day 2001, 2026, 2051 and 2076.
Read about the capsule contents at WesClark.com.
Eric and Wendell
Eric and Wendell, two park bench regulars at the library, who I had a wonderful conversation with (thanks for sharing your Cheetos, guys!) told me word on the street is that when the 2001 time capsule was opened it was empty.
Another bronze sculpture of Dr. Burbank will be unveiled later this year, in slightly larger-than-life form, as the intersection of Burbank and Victory boulevards.
Created by artist Andrea Favilli, it is part of the $10-million improvement project covering 2.2 miles of Burbank Blvd. that also includes 11 landscaped medians, 401 trees and 54 benches.
See more photos of Dr. Burbank's bust on my Flickr page.