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This is the 9th and final mural painted in the community from 1998 to 2007. It is located at 500 East Main Street. This mural was Completed in 2007 by Muralist Wendell Dowling.
The sepia-toned panel captures a pivotal moment in Santa Paula’s aviation history. In the center, Ralph Dickenson’s 1929 SM-2AC Stinson Detroiter takes prominence, symbolizing the official opening of the airport in August 1930. Ralph Dickenson, the visionary founder, stands beside the aircraft, embodying his pivotal role in the airport’s development.
To the right stands Bill Hackbarth’s meticulously restored 1918 De Havilland DH-4, which once flew mail from Rock Springs, Wyoming to Salt Lake City, Utah until a fateful crash in 1922. Bill Hackbarth brought the salvaged wreckage to Santa Paula in 1965, painstakingly restoring it. In 1967, he flew this historic aircraft across the United States, eventually donating it to the Smithsonian Institution.
These aircraft and their stories stand as enduring symbols of Santa Paula’s rich aviation heritage and the passion and dedication of those who contributed to its legacy.
