Gray metal utility boxes are being reimagined across Riverside. Instead of tired concealment tactics like lattice screens draped with bougainvillea or cellular palm trees these everyday fixtures are becoming little stations of art and information.
Local artist Katya Orlovie has been transforming boxes in the Wood Streets with her hand-painted designs. The Downtown boxes are wrapped in marketing graphics for the Arts and Culture branding, each featuring a historical summary about a surrounding building or location.
Utility boxes, typically targets for vandalism or completely ignored by passersby, are now becoming unexpected points of interest. We know they're there and why they're there, but we don't expect to find something beautiful in these spaces. When we do, it creates little moments of surprise and delight.
"We've done seven hand-painted boxes in the Wood Streets, with another dozen in the works. We have three of the wrapped utility boxes in Downtown with three more in the design phase," says Councilmember Philip Falcone.
Find the painted boxes as you drive down Magnolia between Bandini and Terracina. The transformed boxes downtown are at Mission Inn and Orange, Mission Inn and Market, and Market and 6th. The next to be wrapped will be Market and Ninth, Market and 12th, and 6th and Orange.
This transformation shows careful attention to detail, turning urban eyesores into whimsical encounters that add polish to otherwise overlooked corners of our city. Rather than trying to hide these necessary fixtures, the artistic approach celebrates them, adding splashes of color and storytelling to everyday walks.
These small touches of whimsy reveal a city that cares about detail. Each painted or wrapped box offers an unexpected moment. In The City of Arts, even infrastructure can become a canvas for creativity.
