The Pacific Beach Recreation Center is an important public space that has served our community for more than 65 years. In 2024 the PBTC completed an art installation that is now one of the true gems of Pacific Beach. This project was conceived and spearheaded by longtime community member Brian Curry — a former PBTC director, Honorary Mayor and Planning Group chair; and currently a local business owner.
The PB Town Council worked with San Diego artist Rob Tobin to create the Pacific Beach Community Surf Garden, a permanent installation of two one-of-a-kind large-scale mosaic art pieces depicting flowers and a sunset.
Surfboards donated by the community were mosaicked and used to create giant, colorful flowers and foliage on the north wall. Each of the tiles running along the base of the installation are embossed with the name of a donor to the project. 
The south wall also features a mixed-media paint and mosaicked surfboard mural but depicting a colorful sunset mandala.
Making the Surf Garden Possible
This project was made possible not only through the PBTC’s leadership, but by immense support from the community. We would like to thank all of those who donated to make this project a reality. The donors’ identities are memorialized on the hundreds of tiles that form the murals.
Meet the Artist
Rob Tobin is a local artist specializing in community participatory art.
As director of creativity for the nonprofit A Reason To Survive (ARTS), Rob worked with schools and communities to facilitate large-scale mosaic murals and mentored many young artists.
Here is a video in which Rob shows us his work on community projects:
Here are some works around San Diego that have been completed:
