New murals downtown trace Sunnyvale's history

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(photo Jacqueline Ramseyer/Bay Area News Group/March 25, 2014) Artist Morgan Bricca talks to passersby after putting the finishing touches on the second of three murals outside the Goodwill building in downtown Sunnyvale.

Waves, smiles, honks and even a serenade by a guitarist all helped encourage muralist Morgan Bricca, who stood atop a 15-foot scaffolding in front of the downtown Goodwill store this month delicately painting the history of Sunnyvale.

From its agricultural days to the innovations of NASA Ames and Lockheed Martin, Sunnyvale's story is being captured and displayed in three 30-foot-long murals in the middle of downtown.

The Sunnyvale Goodwill at E. Washington and S. Sunnyvale avenues had the opportunity to completely change its look, with Goodwill stores being renovated throughout Silicon Valley.

Giant faded blue awnings are now gone and instead of a rather colorless faade, the building now pops with warm hues of tan and a rusty orange. And with the help of Bricca, three vibrant murals help transport downtown patrons back in time to the Sunnyvale of yesterday.

Contractors hired by Goodwill reached out to Bricca and the Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum to help design and execute the murals.

Bricca, who has been painting murals for 14 years and averages 30 a year, said the project is one of her largest undertakings, one filled with unique challenges such as getting detail to come through the course stucco of the building.

Since last summer, Bricca and the contractors worked with museum volunteer Johan Koning on the design and dug through file cabinets upon file cabinets of photos for inspiration.

Three separate panels on the building feature three separate eras in Sunnyvale. The first, at the front of the building, represents early Sunnyvale with farmers watering their fields via a horse-drawn water wagon next to blossoming cherry trees.

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New murals downtown trace Sunnyvale's history