Destination Crenshaw

Destination Crenshaw is an under-construction 1.3-mile-long (2.1 km) open-air museum along Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to preserving the history and culture of African Americans.[2] The project includes new pocket parks, outdoor sculptures, murals, street furniture, and landscaping.[3]

Destination Crenshaw
Established2019 (2019)
LocationCrenshaw Boulevard, Hyde Park, Los Angeles
Coordinates34°0′0″N 118°19′51″W
TypeHistory and culture of African Americans
ArchitectZena Howard, (Gabrielle Bullock, managing principal) Perkins+Will[1]
WebsiteOfficial website

Design
Our Mighty Contribution Mural being repaired after vandalism

The design of the park features four nodes along its length, each featuring a theme celebrating the heritage of the area's African American art. The southernmost end of the project, called Welcome Park and themed "Improvisation", starts near Slauson Avenue. It features the Crenshaw Monument, a 120-foot-tall (6.1 m) totem that spells out Crenshaw in giant letters. The second node, themed "Firsts" is centered around 54th St and includes new pocket parks. The third node will be located at 50th Street near Crenshaw High School and is themed "Dreams". This node was inspired by local architect Paul Revere Williams (1894 – 1980).[4] "The Crenshaw Wall" with an existing mural titled "Our Mighty Contribution" will be restored, protected, and lit.[5] The long mural depicts the millennia of black history starting with the words, "In the beginning".[6] The 800-foot mural (240 m) was painted in 2000 but the wall has been the site of murals and graffiti art celebrating black culture and social commentary since at least the 1960s.[7] The northernmost end of the project ends at Sankofa Park, a large new public park adjacent to Leimert Park Metro station.[8][9] Here, park visitors will be able to look north and south from an elevated viewing platform.[10] A Sankofa bird is depicted with its head turned backwards while its feet face forward carrying a precious egg in its mouth. The nearby Leimert Plaza Park is a gathering place in Leimert Park Village which has served as a hub of African-American art and culture in Los Angeles.[11]

The museum will have 100 permanent and temporary public artworks.[12] Perkins and Will is the design firm for the project.[13] Groundbreaking took place on Feb 29, 2020. Construction is slated for completion within the year.[12]

Formation

The major commercial corridor for the Hyde Park, Leimert Park and Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw neighborhoods is known as "the heart of African American commerce in Los Angeles".[14][15][16] The project was conceived to celebrate the Crenshaw business district as a black community amid fears of gentrification with the arrival of the Crenshaw/LAX light rail line and the NFL Stadium in Inglewood.[12] In the midst of the transit construction and coming demographic changes, this placekeeping project celebrates being “unapologetically, authentically black.”[17] Like Koreatown, Chinatown and Olvera Street, proponents want this project to provide an identity to this community and highlight the historic nature of South Los Angeles.[12]

The office of Los Angeles Council member Marqueece Harris-Dawson has engaged the neighborhood in the project.[18] He brought together leaders from South Los Angeles including artists, activists, curators, musicians, filmmakers, academics, community planners, and community organizers. The stakeholders and experts included Judith Baca, Ben Caldwell, Ron Finley, Mark Steven Greenfield, Darnell Hunt, and Nipsey Hussle before his death in March 2019.[3][17] Issa Rae spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony at the end of Black History Month on February 29, 2020.[2][19][20] Rae said this project is special to her as she is a native of the area.[10]

Business owners and residents were upset that the light rail trains running at street level would remove parking spaces essential to the commercial area.[9] The train tracks will be a barrier that further impacts local small businesses.[1] As the light rail line brings the possibility of gentrification, efforts are being made to ensure the project benefits the people who already live along the route.[17] The project has worked to support local businesses by providing infrastructure improvement grants for business owners who own their properties, including code compliance work, new parking spaces, building repairs and culturally stamped sidewalks.[21] Contractors will be required to hire workers who are underrepresented minorities in the trades.[22] Local artists have also been sought for the project.[17]

The $100 million project has received government funding from the City of Los Angeles, the State of California, and Los Angeles County.[4] The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board unanimously voted to approve $15 million for the construction of Sankofa Park as they were already responsible for site improvements including the sidewalk and curb after construction of the Crenshaw/LAX line is complete.[23] The project will also enhance Metro-owned properties along the street level light rail route.[8] Steve Ballmer donated to this project and others whose grantees "are working toward racial equity, specifically within predominantly Black communities."[24][25]

See also

References
  1. Olson, Carly (February 20, 2020). "How Perkins and Will's Gabrielle Bullock Built a Career Empowering People of Color". Architectural Digest. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  2. Barragan, Bianca (February 21, 2020). "11 developments sprouting along the Crenshaw Line, mapped". Curbed LA. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  3. Dambrot, Shana Nys (November 14, 2018). "Destination Crenshaw: Black Los Angeles Greets the World". LA Weekly. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  4. Hickman, Matt (May 1, 2020). "Destination Crenshaw celebrates the culture of South Los Angeles as it parades down the community's main drag". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  5. Shaw, Anny (February 16, 2019). "Wearing its art on its sleeve: Los Angeles' enduring passion for murals". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved August 10, 2020. As part of the $100m project, Our Mighty Contribution is due to be fully restored and treated with a protective coating.
  6. Brightwell, Eric (January 9, 2013). "Exploring the Course of the Future Metro Crenshaw Line". KCET. Retrieved September 5, 2020. About halfway up the next block we passed a long mural depicting millennia of black history. It begins with the words, "In the beginning" and almost reads like a scroll before ending with the plea "respect art -- no street bombs," an admonition which has been followed. It seems most people merely refer to it as "The Wall," although I've also heard of it being referred to as "The Great Wall of Crenshaw."
  7. Barragan, Bianca (March 31, 2014). "A History and Possible Future of the Incredible Crenshaw Wall". Curbed LA. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  8. Barragan, Bianca (July 29, 2019). "Metro awards $15M to open-air museum that will celebrate black Los Angeles". Curbed LA. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  9. Davidson, Justin (February 17, 2020). "L.A.'s Beguiling Idea: An African-American Arts Destination". Intelligencer. New York Magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  10. Flores, Jessica (March 2, 2020). "Actress Issa Rae at Destination Crenshaw groundbreaking: 'We're not going anywhere'". Curbed LA. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  11. "Motion 18-0385" (PDF). LACity.org. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  12. Chiotakis, Steve (March 2, 2020). "Destination Crenshaw breaks ground. LA residents are excited but fear gentrification". KCRW. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  13. "Destination Crenshaw – Perkins and Will". perkinswill.com. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  14. Robinson-Jacobs, Karen (May 2, 2001). "Noticing a Latin Flavor in Crenshaw". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  15. Meares, Hadley (May 17, 2019). "How Crenshaw became black LA's main street". Curbed LA. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  16. Parra, Alvaro (October 23, 2014). "Crenshaw Boulevard: Cruising Through the Decades". KCET. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  17. Easter, Makeda (January 30, 2019). "Destination Crenshaw art project aims to reclaim the neighborhood for black L.A." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  18. Sulaiman, Sahra (February 9, 2019). "Destination Crenshaw and the Rise of We-Built-this-Place-Making". Streetsblog Los Angeles. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  19. Love, Marianne (February 27, 2020). "Groundbreaking for Destination Crenshaw will set new era in motion for LA neighborhood". Daily News. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  20. Samaha, Barry (July 23, 2020). "Issa Rae's Style Continues to Get Brighter and Bolder". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  21. "Destination Crenshaw Supports Legacy Businesses". Los Angeles Sentinel. February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  22. "Destination Crenshaw's Pipeline to Public Sector Jobs". Los Angeles Sentinel. February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  23. "Destination Crenshaw receives funding commitment". California Construction News. July 29, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  24. Greif, Andrew (July 8, 2020). "Steve Ballmer is putting his billions behind bigger causes in L.A. than the Clippers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  25. "Grantees Supporting Racial Equity in Predominantly Black Communities". Ballmer Group. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
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