"Sand City sits just two miles from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, yet until this month, visitors couldn't spend the night in town. For decades, this half-square-mile town wedged between Costco and Highway 1 has been hiding in plain sight - a warehouse district turned open-air art gallery, where murals climb concrete walls and sculptors work in spaces that once stored industrial equipment."
"The West End arts district emerged in the late 1960s and '70s along Ortiz Avenue and Hickory Street, when artists seeking affordable space and the freedom to work at odd hours without complaint began converting warehouses into live-work studios. What started as informal block parties and jam sessions evolved into the West End Celebration, now entering its third decade. Each August, six blocks close to traffic and transform into a pedestrian gallery."
Sand City lies two miles from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and recently opened its first hotel. The town converted former warehouses into live-work studios beginning in the late 1960s and '70s, creating the West End arts district along Ortiz Avenue and Hickory Street. Annual events include the West End Celebration each August, which closes six blocks to traffic and fills the streets with artists, vendors, and live music. Since 2020, the we.Mural Festival added over 50 large-scale murals by international and local artists, producing a remarkable concentration of public art in a town of just over 300 residents.
Read at The Mercury News
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