In recent years, a number of new pieces of public art have seemed to pop up all over Temple City. These new pieces of art are part of Temple City’s Art in Public Places Program and Public Arts Commission, which was created in June 2011. Arguably the most notable are the two statues on Rosemead Boulevard depicting a man and a woman hopping on a trolley car.
The two statues are referred to as Red Car Man and Woman, but are officially titled “Jump On” and “Helping Hand,” respectively. Artist Daniel Stern created these bronze sculptures in 2014.
Rumor has it that the artist’s intentions behind the pose of the statues are meant to portray the inhabitants of Temple City as a city flying into the future with optimism. While it is also rumored that these statues are meant to depict the founders, the artist intended for these statues to be random citizens.
Stern shows the person in each sculpture hopping on a Red Car trolley, part of the Pacific Electric Line that connected Temple City to Los Angeles and ran through much of Southern California. This trolley system operated in the early 1900’s and began to rapidly decline in the 1920’s.
The two pieces of art help to connect the city to its rich history, but also symbolize that like the trolley car, Temple City is always moving forward.