Renderings courtesy of the City of Long Beach.
Construction has begun on the re-envisioned Harvey Milk Promenade Park and Equality Plaza (Harvey Milk Park), the city announced this morning.
The project will convert the existing 500-square-foot park into a more collaborative space. The redesign is part of a larger city-lead initiative to “increase economic development by connecting people and institutions through more open, diverse and inclusive public spaces for people to gather,” according to the release.
“We created Harvey Milk Park when I represented the Downtown on the City Council, and it has become an important gathering place for the public and to honor so many LBGTQ leaders in our city,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “I’m excited about the investments and improvements coming to the park.”
The improvements still celebrate the legacy of Harvey Milk and will include an improved memorial wall honoring local leaders in the LGBTQ+ community. Harvey Milk Park is the first park in the city named after an openly gay person, and the first park in the nation named after the civil rights leader.
Site improvements will include:
- New landscape and hardscape
- A stage for events
- An improved honor wall honoring local LGBTQ+ leaders
- A mural honoring Harvey Milk
- Charging stations
- Shade
- Comfortable seating
“The transformation at Harvey Milk Park not only represents a new opportunity for residents to connect with each other in a public space but it highlights the importance of the LGBTQ+ community in Long Beach,” Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez said in a statement. “I am so thankful to all of our Harvey Milk Park Equality Plaza Committee Members who helped to design this park as a constant reminder of the fight for equal rights in Long Beach and throughout our nation.”
Through an extensive process to understand residents’ needs, city staff invited the community to test and vote on the types of furniture and technology solutions they would like to see at the improved park.
City Looks for Public Input Regarding Harvey Milk Park Transformation
The construction is being managed by the Department of Public Works with the park projected to be completed this May.