L.A. State Historic Park Plan Images

Planned wetlands and nature center at north end of Los Angeles State Historic Park

This blog is a follow-up to a previous post about the new plans for Los Angeles State Historic Park, affectionately known as the Cornfields.  The images presented at the November 20th public meeting came on-line in mid-December, and I am sharing a few of them with you here.  For the full presentation, with plenty of  exciting images, see California State Parks’ website.  The design team is headed by Hargreaves Associates landscape architects.

The existing park at the site is called the IPU (for Interim Public Use) – a temporary park while the state plans and funds the permanent park, which is not expected to be built until 2011 – and that’s just the date for the planned first phase.

Historic Photo of the Pedestrian Bridge that spanned the Cornfield Yards (extended from Spring to Broadway, no longer standing)

View of South End of planned park - including new contemporary pedestrian "fountain bridge" echoing the former footbridge

The images I found most dramatic are the following proposed transformation of the area between the park and the river.  To complete this will require some additional property, so don’t look for it to happen in phase one.

Phase 1 - World-Class park on State Parks' 32+acre site - ending at Baker Street - about 100' from the LA River

Phase 2 - Aquisition and greening of existing Metro "triangle parcel" - Baker Street narrowed - park extends to river's edge

Phase 3 - additional acquisition of non-historic buildings (including current Farmlab) - expansion of wetlands habitat

Phase 4 - Park graded to slope down to naturalized river - Baker Street eliminated - below-grade river access under existing railroad tracks.

(My apologies that some of these images, despite my high-tech prowess, have been somewhat cropped and distorted. Please see them in their full glorious proportions and detail at State Parks website.)