Willow Springs Park’s hilltop plaza is covered with an area map made from decomposed granite and tumbled glass. The map was made by local artist Steve Elicker. Photos by Sarah Bennett.
The land on which Longview Point sits has filled many roles over its 130-year City ownership. As the site of a flourishing underground spring discovered in 1882, its discovery originally allowed Downtown Long Beach to flourish. After oil was discovered in Signal Hill, the property became littered with rigs and became a revenue source for the city.
More recently, the 47 acres between California and Orange Streets just above Willow St. has been the talk of a series of failed ideas: a race track, home developments and an adult sports park that would have spent millions of dollars to level out the hilly landscape.
Today, however, four acres of the historic area—including Longview Point, the highest accessible peak in the city—officially opens as public space for the first time ever. It is the first phase of what 7th District Councilmember James Johnson hopes will become the largest park development in the City of Long Beach since 1952.
“You can see so much of the city reflected in this property,” said Johnson. “Spring St. gets its name from here and so does Willow St. because of all the willow trees on the land. This is the original remnant of the long beach watershed. We have to get people in this park or we’ll lose it forever.”
Johnson is the driving force behind getting the area converted into a passive recreation space and has for the last year built resident interest in these first four acres by sponsoring walks, study sessions and even a 4th of July “preview” concert held atop Longview Point. In August, he announced the results of a naming competition for the entire 47-acre parkland and soon after, Willow Springs Park was born.
To cut down on the cost of readying four acres of industrialized property for public use, Johnson enlisted the help of Larry Rich, the City’s sustainability coordinator. Native plants such as white sage, golden current and bush sunflower were put into the ground and free mulch from the City’s tree-trimming program (which Rich also runs) was used to fill in surrounding space. Signal Hill Petroleum—which still operates working pumpjacks on the land—donated volunteer labor to clear debris and the Conservation Corps of Long Beach has brought in youth workers as well.
But Willow Springs’ main attraction remains Longview Point, the location of an equally-as-eco-friendly hilltop plaza featuring a 100-foot diameter artistic map of the region made from decomposed granite and tumbled glass, crafted by local artist Steve Elicker.
“This is a very non-traditional approach to a park,” said Rich, “but it’s the direction that open space development is going. One problem with creating new parks is the cost to maintain…[and so] we developed this one with an eye towards sustainability. We used natural materials and planted native plants that know how to survive in this type of environment.”
By the first of the year, Johnson says he will have a master plan for Willow Springs Park, which will allow the City to apply for grants to obtain funding for the remaining 43 acres. He looks at nature reserves such as Bolsa Chica and Ballona Creek as inspirations, noting that the Willow Springs Park is technically a wetland as it remains home to a large, open-air county flood control structure, which continues to drain its water into the surrounding rivers and beaches.
“I am confident that this will be very attractive for state and federal grants to help restore these wetlands and save the threatened species on the property,” Johnson said, noting that the first four acres is just the beginning. “My hope is that people come here and see this and demand the 47 acres. We already own it, so the glass is two-thirds full.”
Jazz at Twilight: Willow Springs Park Grand Opening is tonight, Thursday, November 1 from 6PM to 9PM. Residents are encouraged to bring a picnic basket and lawn chair as they enjoy the free concert and panoramic views that Willow Springs Park has to offer. Willow Springs Park is located at 2745 Orange Ave.
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