H.E.A.R.T. group dedicates Kenilworth Inn mural

A crowd gathered at Eighth and Main streets to witness the Ramona H.E.A.R.T. Mural Project dedicate the town’s fifth mural, titled “Kenilworth Inn Time Travelers.”

The mural decorates one wall of the Ramona Food and Clothes Closet building at 773 Main St. and depicts a part of the town’s history. Built in 1887 as a backcountry tourist resort, the two-story Kenilworth Inn was one of the oldest and most widely known hotels in Southern California until it burned in 1943.

Ramona Food and Clothes Closet, an organization that assists those in need and operates a thrift store, occupies the building that replaced the Kenilworth Inn and, mural project board members agreed, is a fitting place for the mural.

“My goal is to involve the viewer with the historic building, plus, the era itself,” Luisi wrote on copies of the mural that she autographed at the dedication. “I see the vintage characters as time travelers who ventured from the inn into present-day Ramona.”

Her children, Ian and Alexi Foster, were models for the two vintage characters in the mural.

Incorporated into the mural are seven hearts in honor of the seven members of the H.E.A.R.T. committee, she said. Members of the H.E.A.R.T. Mural Project board are S. Elaine Lyttleton, Judy Nachazel, Robert Krysak, Rob Lewallen, Stephanie Norvell, Chris Anderson and Donna Zick. The project’s mission is to encourage economic vitality by increasing tourism, promoting community pride, and celebrating Ramona’s heritage through an outdoor visual arts program.

The acronym H.E.A.R.T. reflects Ramona’s location in the center of San Diego County with each letter standing for a characteristic of the community: “H” for Historic and Hiking, “E” for Equine, “A” for Arts, Antiques and Agriculture, “R” for scenic rural vistas and drives, and “T” for Tasting of fine wines.

For more about the mural project or to donate, see ramonamurals.com.