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Los Angeles State Historic Park Grand Opening Poster, 2017
Courtesy Los Angeles State Historic Park
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Saturday—sixteen years since its establishment and after three years of renovation—is
the grand re-opening of the Los Angeles State Historic Park, also known as
Cornfield Park. As downtown Los Angeles redevelops, we recall the cultural, historical, and environmental history.of the park, now 34 acres with 1,500 trees, picnic areas, grassy hills, and wildlife habitat just off of Los Angeles's Chinatown neighborhood.
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Aerial view of a swollen Los Angeles River showing the Southern Pacific Shops and its Alhambra Avenue Roundhouse, Los Angeles, 1938 - CHS/USC
It was the
site of an abandoned rail yard in downtown Los Angeles. Historically, it is
where Spanish explorer Gaspar de
Portola crossed the Los Angeles River and camped in the area of Yanga (or
Yan-gna), a Tongva village. In
2001, it was targeted to become an industrial center.
But other visions prevailed: make the site—between the river and Chinatown—an urban oasis.
But other visions prevailed: make the site—between the river and Chinatown—an urban oasis.
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Site of Not a Cornfield, c. 2005
Courtesy Wikimapia
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In 2005,
artist Lauren Bon acquired a $2 million grant for her “Not a Cornfield” project.
Corn seeds from the trains of the Southern Pacific’s River Station year had
resulted in their sprouting, and Bon turned the cleaned-up deserted railroad
yard into an actual cornfield as a living sculpture.
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Steve Rowell (Photographer), Not a Cornfield, 2005
Copyright © Not a Cornfield
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California
State Parks then took over, after 35 community, environmental, civil rights,
civic, and business organizations successfully convinced the state to purchase the site for a park. Los Angeles Historic State Park opened in a small part of the park in 2006.
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LASHP Master Development Plan Phase I, 2011
Courtesy California Department of Parks and Recreation
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Los Angeles State Historic Park, 2012
Courtesy KCET
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Los Angeles State Historic Park, 2012
Courtesy, Curbed Los Angeles
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Los Angeles State Historic Park, 2017
Courtesy of Los Angeles State Historic Park
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Shelly Kale
Publications and Strategic Projects
Manager
Sources
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