So Cal City Pays Tribute to Maui’s Famous Cones

A Southern California city is paying homage to Maui and its penchant for orange rubber safety cones through displays of public art around town.

Officials in Long Beach returned last month from a tour of Hawaii and wanted to add a little island touch for the city’s 450,000 residents.

“We wanted to somehow express what we saw, and the mural seemed the easiest and fastest route,” said City Manager Tom Modica. “Plus, we don’t have the budget to buy like over a thousand safety cones to try to even match what we saw on Maui. It was amazing.”

“There are no other states or cities between Long Beach and Maui, so we’re kind of like neighbor cities,” said Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson. “It’s only a 2,500-mile trip, a little pond-jumper nowadays.”

The city commissioned two known local muralists to paint cone color and flavor onto some of the city’s many huge metal electrical boxes.

“The metal boxes were just big enough to allow freedom to truly convey the beauty of these cones,” said Elwood Humperdink of Paramount, one of the artists.

On Monday, passersby were impressed with the work on East Appleton Street east of Alamitos Avenue.

“Those old gray metal boxes kind of blended right in with the typical city dreariness,” said Joanne Wilcox, a Bluff Heights resident. “Thank goodness they painted orange cones on them, or I might have walked right into them while texting."

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