Two majestic and ornate pillars that once stood atop of the Jergins Trust Building in Downtown Long Beach are now on solid ground a mile away in Willmore City/Drake Park Historic District.
The terra cotta facade elements from the now-demolished building form the new formal entryway to the future Drake/Chavez Greenbelt and were the centerpiece of a ribbon-cutting ceremony held by the Willmore City Heritage Association Saturday afternoon.
The mood was bittersweet for some who congregated along the revitalized Willmore City Heritage Garden near the intersection of 7th St. and Maine Ave., as they had fought hard to save the 1919-built Jergins Trust Building from being torn down in 1988. Also at the ribbon-cutting were members of WCHA, involved neighbors and people from the Long Beach Navy Memorial Heritage Association—also known as the Navy Trust—who donated the large grant that made the final phase of cleaning and reinstallation of the pillars possible.
The pillars themselves are 15 feet tall and weigh 7000 pounds each. After the demolition of the Jergins Trust Building, they were spotted lying in a weed-filled lot by community members riding along the Los Angeles River bike path. Through a mix of public and private parnerships, the idea to repurpose the pillars in this way was finally seen to fruition.
Today, they lie as the entrance to a soon-to-be-built “greenbelt” on the westernmost edge of the Willmore City Heritage Garden, a neighborhood project that removed the rusted chain-link fence and shopping carts from a pocket of land that lines 7th St. along its onramp to the I-710.
Though the entryway created by the pillar installation is mainly symbolic right now (a Metro storeyard is currently behind it), Vice Mayor and First District Councilmember Robert Garcia announced prior to the ribbon-cutting that the first phase of the Drake Park/Chavez expansion is a fully funded project and should begin next year.
Future plans for the Garden include a mural along the northern wall and signage for the 7th St. overpass that will properly send off drivers as they leave Long Beach.
Click here to view our policies covering Robert Garcia and the Long Beach city council.
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