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Photos: A Park With An Amphitheater And Gorgeous Views Is Coming To Chinatown
With a constant influx of new restaurants and apartment complexes, Chinatown is obviously going through a phase of change. While some additions are more heralded than others, you’d be hard pressed to find residents who are opposed to more park space (L.A. is sorely lacking in park access, after all).
Chinatown will, indeed, be getting a new park. It's slated to land by the corner of Yale and Ord streets, and AHBE Landscape Architects (who’s designing the park) has released a set of renderings on the project. The images show a pristine area that, while not exactly sprawling, is maximized for a number of neat features.
As Evan Mather, principal at AHBE, told LAist, one of the biggest obstacles in designing the park is the fact that it’s situated along a hillside—the site has about a 30-feet grade difference. “That’s been a challenge in terms of creating an accessible park,” Mather told LAist. “That’s why, when we designed it, we thought of it as progressing in different grounds or rooms.”
As such, the park is divided into three separate tiers (which are all connected and ADA accessible). As Mather explained to LAist, designers worked with the concept of mind, body and spirit. The lower level, which is by the Chinatown branch of the L.A. Public Library, is regarded as the “mind.” Likewise, it’ll house a small amphitheater that Mather says could be used for performances and gatherings. This portion is dubbed the Lotus Plaza.
The middle level—the Bamboo Garden—reflects the “body,” and will have a children’s play area and a rock climbing structure. Mather said that community input indicated that residents wanted an area for grandparents to watch their grandchildren play; as such, this middle tier will also include a shaded area with picnic benches.
As for the top level—the Heavenly Garden, or the "spirit"—visitors there will be presented with a view of the San Gabriel Mountains. There’ll also be moon-viewing windows that frame a lunar tableau for the spectator.
Mather added that the park will be regarded as an extension of the Alpine Recreational Center that’s on Yale, just a block away from the upcoming park. “The grandparents can leave the rec center and meet up with their grandchildren after school, and then they can head for the park after,” said Mather.
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Mather says that construction should take 12 months. There's currently no set date on when construction will start, however.
Correction: A previous version of this story said that the park will be completed in 12 months. It's more accurate to say that it will be completed in 12 months once construction has started.
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