Ruth Asawa's Bronze Panels Come Home Before the Part Burbank Students Made

When the Asawa Fountain was dedicated in Old Courthouse Square in 1987, children from Luther Burbank Elementary School pulled their parents to the edge of it. A former Burbank administrator named Trujillo recalled the scene to The Press Democrat. "Dozens and dozens and dozens of children were pulling their parents' hands saying 'Look, that's my piece.'" For decades after that, he said, those children grew into adults who still pointed at the fountain and said they had made part of it.

Ten years after the panels came down, the City of Santa Rosa wants six of them back in town by mid-December, recast in bronze. The section that grew out of the schoolchildren's work is not among them. The three uncast panels are the sea-life panels, and their future depends on a decision the city has only begun to take public: whether a fountain or a permanent stage gets the spot on Third Street.

What the six returning panels show

Asawa called the work "History of Sonoma County." It is a bas-relief tableau that wrapped around an existing fountain, and her design drew on conversations with groups across the city so the subjects would reflect a community consensus. Her biographer, Marilyn Chase, listed the figures and places in the design.

• Early Spanish governors, and Gen. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo with his children
• Native American basket-weavers
• Chinese farmers and railroad workers, along with vineyard workers
• Luther Burbank
• Snoopy and other Peanuts characters
• Sonoma Mission and Buena Vista Winery

These are the scenes most people remember from the square. Of the nine panels, six have been cast in bronze and are ready for temporary display. They have been stored in the East Bay for the past decade, and the city plans to bring them north this winter.

The bronze Asawa wanted in the 1980s

Bronze was Asawa's choice from the start. When city leaders asked her to turn a gray concrete box with water spouts into a work of art, she told them it should be done in bronze. Santa Rosa offered the $100,000 it had budgeted for art, which was not enough for bronze, so she worked in bas-relief concrete resin instead.

Asawa still took the commission, and The Press Democrat's 2021 account says the chance to work with children was likely a reason. Her method was to have figures shaped first in baker's dough, then reproduced in clay and used as molds for the concrete forms.

The concrete aged. The panels came out of the square in May 2016 during its reunification, and by 2021 they had small fissures that put them at risk of breaking. The originals could still serve as masters for bronze casting, which is how the decline of the concrete led to the material Asawa had asked for. Here is how the cost has added up since then.

The July 2025 council resolution describes the panels as being "for the new fountain being constructed for Courthouse Square." The panels were cast with a fountain in mind, and that fountain is now one of several options.

Why the sea-life panels wait

At Burbank Elementary in 1986, the whole school spent a year on the project. "The focus was Sonoma Coast sea life," Trujillo told The Press Democrat. Asawa and her team visited the campus regularly, and students shaped sea creatures in baker's dough. Her team then chose which pieces would go into the work. Asawa also invited the fourth, fifth and sixth graders, about half the school, to her home in San Francisco. The masks on the walls made the biggest impression on the kids, Trujillo said, and Asawa served them orange slices.

The three panels still uncast are the "Sea Life Panels," and they are much larger than the six that are finished. The city is holding off on purpose. Gabe Osburn, Santa Rosa's Director of Planning and Economic Development, explained the reason to The Press Democrat:

"What we don't want to do, especially with the larger panels, is pour them in a situation where they become problematic with the final design of the structure that they are attached to."

In other words, the city won't cast the sea-life section until it knows what that section will be attached to, and that question is open again.

A fountain, a stage, or both on Third Street

The square's 2016 master plan includes a fountain on Third Street, and electric and water lines were installed there. Since then, the square has become the city's main event space. Of the 64 events held there in 2025, 31 used a stage. Osburn said about half of the square's events set up a fairly large stage in the spot where the fountain is supposed to go. Backers of a permanent stage argue it would attract more events and make them affordable for smaller organizations and nonprofits.

The two council members on the Economic Development Subcommittee see it differently. Eddie Alvarez told The Press Democrat he would like both, perhaps with a fountain as part of one side of the stage. Jeff Okrepkie said he expects the answer to be one or the other. Osburn said a fountain could be moved, but it would likely cost more for new or relocated utilities. The city has generally moved away from water features because of drought and upkeep costs. The Fremont Park fountain and the water feature across from City Hall by the Dol Hareubang statues have both been dry for years.

The Asawa estate has opened another option. In a March 9 letter to the city, Vivian Tong, arts manager for Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc., said the estate would like to explore other ways to display the work, "including the possibility of integrating the History of Sonoma County panels, currently being completed in bronze, into a stage design within Old Courthouse Square." If the panels can work on a stage, the choice between a fountain and a stage gets less stark, but the sea-life panels still can't be poured until the design is set.

Where the six bronze panels could appear first

The six finished panels will need a temporary home while that decision is made. The city has started discussing options, with renderings, for these four sites.

"It's been a long time," Okrepkie told The Press Democrat.

How the decision will be made

The city has already taken the question to the Economic Development Subcommittee, the Art and Public Places Committee and the Community Advisory Board. Okrepkie said staff were directed to do "far more outreach than would be typical."

1. Already done. At its Oct. 12 meeting, the Economic Development Subcommittee received a report on the earlier committee discussions and was asked to recommend how to engage the community.
2. Friday, Nov. 27. The Santa Rosa Metro Chamber's free Winter Lights Tree Lighting Celebration takes place in Courthouse Square. It's a good evening to stand at the Third Street edge, where both the fountain and a stage are proposed.
3. Monday, Dec. 7. The Art in Public Places Committee is on the city's meeting calendar.
4. Mid-December. This is the city's target for delivering the six bronze panels to Santa Rosa.
5. After that. A City Council study session on the square is planned, and the city is preparing a public survey.

The city is collecting comments through its Facebook page and the City Connections newsletter, along with public meetings. The Burbank students who shaped sea creatures in 1986 are adults now, and the sea-life section that grew out of their work will be cast for whatever the square ends up holding.

If you have a memory of the fountain or a view on where the bronze panels belong, or if you just want to talk about life near downtown Santa Rosa, Rob Sullivan would be glad to hear from you. Let's connect.