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Front Page Feature from Santa Cruz Sentinel Wednesday, October 11, 2023
A pedestrian casts a long shadow in the late afternoon sunlight on the new green sidewalk at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz. Tom Ralston, who designed and installed the sidewalk with his concrete company crew said, "I have had a special fondness for the Rio for as long as I can remember. I also have a great respect for Laurence Bedford who took over the Rio in 2000. I was able to get the city's approval to revamp the sidewalk with a "'leprechaun green* concrete, a bronze logo and a bronze plaque with Laurence's profile. We also were able to mount a Historie Land- mark plaque from the MAH." Ralston also installed three protective bollards in the concrete to protect the theater and ticket booth. In 2014, a 34-year-old Santa Cruz man drove a Mercury hatchback into the lobby of the Rio, smashing the entrance and then stabbing himself to death.
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Tom Ralston spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, October 28, 2022. He spoke about how inpsiring the Evergreen Cemetery’s Renaissance has been, and how that inspiration was contagious. It inspired Tom, his concrete company and employees, and all who contributed to the project.
Evergreen Cemetery is one of the oldest public cemeteries in California, and it is the final home to many of Santa Cruz County's early pioneers, leaders, and makers of history. The Cemetery is owned and managed by the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) with the leadership of a group of energized volunteers.
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Funded by California Natural Resources Agency, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County and local donors, this convenient, inclusive walkway is one of several additions and restorations to the beloved and bucolic area since 2015.
Experience the inspiring commitment to Evergreen, which features this and other significant projects, as part of the 2022 Santa Cruz Film Festival. The Restoration of Evergreen Cemetery directed by author Dr. Traci Bliss and produced by Andrew O’Keefe / Amotion, captures the spirit of community and volunteerism at its best. A focus of the short film is the Chinese Gate made possible by the philanthropy and vision of George Ow Jr., the expertise of historians Sandy Lydon and Geoffrey Dunn, and the artistry of Tom Ralston of Tom Ralston Concrete who also created the new ADA pathway.
(Photo by Crystal Birns)
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Tom Ralston Concrete poured a Plaza slab at the new green/blue glass Glacier building at 601 5th Avenue in Anchorage Alaska on Sept 7th.
The building is getting a new look (and a new floor-plan) loosely inspired by Alaska’s glaciers. Tom Ralston Concerete was asked to pour a specialty slab with dark grey concrete, sand wash finish, and 16-grit black Sparkle Grain to match the glacier-inspired design.
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How often is roadway design still making waves (and headlines!) six years later? The Tom Ralston Concrete Dolphin Design at the Santa Cruz Municpal Wharf is both beautiful and functional in helping traffic flow.
Be sure to get all the details from this recent front page story at in the Santa Cruz Sentinel - https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2022/07/14/photo-traffic-follows-the-dolphins/
Also archived here - https://archive.ph/lVVfs
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Tom Ralston Concrete designed and built the Concrete China Town Monument in 2015. The Monument honors their makeshift burial ground built far in the back of the Evergreen Cemetery as the Chinese were resented by much of the local populace.
Evergreen Cemetery is one of the oldest public cemeteries in California, and it is the final home to many of Santa Cruz County's early pioneers, leaders, and makers of history. The Cemetery is owned and managed by the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) with the leadership of a group of energized volunteers.