CSULB Rec students gather at the parking lot… park that they created on campus. Photos by Daniel DeBoom.
3:30pm | The idea is simple: Streets are made for people, so why not turn them into something that people can use more directly?
Park(ing) Day LA began a few years ago and has since spread across America and even into a few foreign countries, with the philosophy of turning parking spaces into parks, green space, or some other than heat-reflecting blacktop. Various parts of Long Beach have joined in the fun in recent years, and today Park(ing) Day is uponst us again and 4th Street is doing its part to contribute.
The shopping district, known as Retro Row, banded together to turn a parking lot at 4th & Cherry into a garden setting, opened an organic fruit and vegetable stand and offered drought-tolerant plants for sale, all in the name of promoting urban green and open space. Local bookstore {open} even fashioned a reading lounge from the metered parking spot outside their front door.
Similar parks were created by students on the campus of California State University Long Beach (CSULB) and near 1st Street & Linden in the downtown East Village neighborhood.
“We just made a little open reading room, basically a living room,” said {open} owner Sé Reed, pictured right. “The idea is to have folks sit and read a little bit. The whole thing is about parks and plants and green spaces, so we have a lot of plants books out there too.”
Passersby can even pop in and borrow a book from the store to enjoy on the outdoor couches.
There’s also a serious attachment to the display on 4th Street, as organizers included an exhibit of their “Vision of 4th Street” plan to widen the sidewalks and create park settings for the community. The area doesn’t enjoy much open green space, but took the opportunity that Park(ing) Day provides to make its case for improvements.
“Fourth Street was doing it this year so we really jumped at the opportunity to join in,” Reed says. “It’s so nice to do something that’s across all of L.A., not just in Long Beach. It’s neat to bring that all the way down here.”
Do you know of any other Park(ing) Day LA events going on in Long Beach? Tell us in the Comments section below or e-mail photos to [email protected].
