Great news for Downtown's Civic Center--the long awaited and highly anticipated Grand Avenue Civic Center Park will begin opening in just a month. According to County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's website, politicians and stakeholders will hold a dedication ceremony for the park at the restored Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain on July 26. Only half of the park will open on that day--the section from Grand Avenue to Hill Street, across the street from the Music Center. The festivities planned for July 28, however, should help you dance away any disappointment you might feel about the delay. The public inaugural of the park will include a celebration of National Dance Day, an event founded by producer Nigel Lythgoe of So You Think You Can Dance fame. "This event will be a great example of the type of fun, interactive and entertaining activities Grand Park will host for years to come," says Thor Steingraber, vice president of programming at the Music Center, which will provide the entertainment for the event.
Designed by Rios Clementi Hale, the park broke ground in July 2010, and was intended as the first component of the perpetually-delayed Grand Avenue project from developer Related Cos. Just yesterday, Related California President Bill Witte told blogdowntown that "Related would likely seek another extension on the deadline to begin construction of the towers, which was most recently postponed to February 2013."
So don't get your hopes up. For those extra keen on seeing this park open, the gallery above samples images of the park, from its earliest design concept stages through construction, and now near-completion.
For fans of big openings, the late spring/summer months have been extremely kind to LA, with openings of the Expo Line, the Orange Line Extension, Civic Center Park, and Levitated Mass. It's almost like the public sphere is on a massive comeback in LA. Who knows...maybe it is?
· A July debut for L.A.'s Grand Park [Zev's Blog]
· Grand Avenue luxury skyscraper project remains on hold, developer seeking another extension [Blogdowntown]
· See the Fountain at DTLA's New Civic Park Turn On the Lights [Curbed LA]
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