Frary Dining Hall, home of the famous Prometheus fresco by noted José Clemente Orozco -- one of "los tres grandes," the three great Mexican muralists. Where else?

Completed in 1930, Prometheus represents the Greek myth of the Titan who stole fire from the gods in order to give it to mankind, an act for which he was roundly punished by a vengeful Zeus. Since the fire of Prometheus is traditionally understood to symbolize wisdom and enlightenment -- an apt metaphor for the task of a liberal arts college -- the mural depicts Prometheus at the moment in which the fire is captured and brought to earth.

During the 1930s, the choice of Orozco as the artist to carry out this fresco was a courageous one, since his expressionist style broke with the traditional decorative mural conventions of the time. Promised five thousand dollars for the commission -- and told, mistakenly, that the funds were already in hand -- Orozco arrived in March 1930 to begin work, only to discover that less than a thousand dollars had been raised (mostly from Pomona students). Shaken by the news, he decided nonetheless that he had come too far to consider withdrawing. "Do you still have the wall?" he is said to have asked. Assured that there was indeed a wall, he was also invited to live in Clark Hall and take his meals in Frary, beneath the eyes of his evolving creation. Fund-raising continued, and Orozco was eventually paid about $2,500 for his work.

With enthusiastic student support, the mural was finally completed in mid-June 1930 and is now under the care of the Pomona College Museum of Art.