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From Santa Cruz Sentinel
Midday light creates shadows as a surfer heads up the stairs after a session at Steamer Lane. New stairs and a stainless steel railing were created in 2022 by Tom Ralston Concrete to replace a stairway that was crumbling and dangerous. A 2011 inductee to the Decorative Concrete Hall of Fame, Tom Ralston has been working in the concrete industry since 1964 and took over the company when his father Jim Ralston retired in 1989.
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From Santa Cruz Sentinel Santa Cruz Sentinel
Statues of Alister MacKenzie, Marion Hollins and Hollins’ dog Carlos were unveiled at the first tee at Pasatiempo Golf Course in Santa Cruz during a ceremony on Friday. Hollins was one of the only known female golf course developers in history. As a golfer, she won the 1921 U.S. Women’s Amateur and was runner-up in 1913. She helped develop three world-class golf courses: The Women’s National Golf and Tennis Club in New York state, Cypress Point Club and Pasatiempo. She owned thousands of acres in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, including the 570 acres of Pasatiempo where she built the Hollins House in 1929. MacKenzie was a legendary golf course architect. Pasatiempo’s golf course underwent a restoration project that began in April 2023 and concluded in December 2024, focusing on returning the course to its original 1929 MacKenzie design. The installation includes benches and platforms designed and poured by Tom Ralston Concrete, and plaques created by Santa Cruz metal artist Sean Monaghan.
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From Santa Cruz Sentinel Santa Cruz Sentinel
Dolphins seem to be swimming alongside vehicles as traffic flows around the roundabout adjacent to the entrance of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. The traffic circle, which won a first-place award from the American Society of Concrete Contractors when it was built in 2016, was constructed by concrete magician Tom Ralston and his crew. At the time Ralston said, “Rather than using arrows that seemed unattractive and industrial I thought we could use dolphins that would point traffic in the correct direction of the flow of traffic.” The dolphins were made in 8-foot, 6-foot and 4-foot sizes and the 8′ dolphins weigh almost half a ton. The dolphins have beach glass, seashells, aquarium sand and each had a custom hand ground abalone eye. Ralston added that he hopes the project can, “serve to lift the soul and psyche of many of the harried individuals in traffic.
Note: This project won the award for “Best Round-a-Bout" the year it was built!
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Shifting from tragedy to reflection, friends, coworkers, and family gathered March 14 at Willowbrook County Park for the unveiling of the memorial area in honor of Sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller...Gratitude was extended to the donors, whose generosity was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition.
Special recognition was expressed to Tom Ralston of Ralston Concrete, Steve Sutherland of SSA Landscape Architects and K&D Landscaping for their invaluable contributions. Project support was provided by County Park Friends, the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, the office of Supervisor Zach Friend, and County Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services.
It is through their collective dedication and generosity that Willowbrook Park stands as a symbol of remembrance, unity, and enduring love.
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From Lookout Santa Cruz
The memorial to fallen Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputy Damon Gutzwiller is now finished. Gutzwiller, you’ll remember, was shot and killed while responding to reports of a suspicious van near Ben Lomond — in other words, doing his job — in the summer of 2020.
The memorial is a beautifully designed spot in Willowbrook Park, a tiny county park in Aptos that Gutzwiller and his dog frequently visited. As created by Santa Cruz’s accomplished concrete artist Tom Ralston, the new memorial features shoeprints of the fallen deputy and his family, and a trio of bronze plaques placed in stone, honoring Sgt. Gutzwiller. Pay a visit sometime and reflect on the sacrifice of this fine public servant.
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from Lookout Santa Cruz
He fronts a 14-piece R&B/soul band, but Tom Ralston is perhaps best known as the man behind one of the Santa Cruz area’s most high-profile construction companies and the artist behind many local concrete artworks. Ralston reluctantly took on his family’s longtime business, but it has defined his life and his standing in the community.