Cornfield Park in Chinatown reopening in April after $20M renovation

It’s finally happening: An official date for the reopening of Los Angeles State Historic Park has been set. The park, nicknamed Cornfield Park, has been closed for about three years for a transformative, $20-million renovation project to expand the grounds and add a host of new amenities.

The newly madeover park will reopen 10 a.m. April 22, and park officials are finalizing plans for a family-friendly day of activities at the park to celebrate, Stephanie Campbell, a Staff Park and Recreation specialist at the LASHP, tells Curbed.

The now-34-acre park features permanent restrooms, a visitor’s center, an events area, paved parking spots, and a raised pedestrian bridge that curves across a section of the park’s open space. The park has also gained a meadow area and new wetlands.

The park was a popular spot for joggers and walkers alike to do a few laps before it closed in April 2014 for its big overhaul. At the time of its closure for renovation, it was estimated that the Chinatown green space would be open again in a year.

But a whole gamut of setbacks beset the project, from finding contaminants on the site to a drought that prevented the timely growback of new grass.

The park originally opened in 2006, intended as a placeholder for the over-30-acre park that will open next month.

• Cornfield Park’s opening pushed again—to January 2017 [Curbed LA]
• Here's How Cornfield Park Will Look After Its Huge Makeover [Curbed LA]