The Spring Street Parklets Debut

Lounge in a pair of wee natural spaces downtown.

How big is a park?

It might look at first glance like a question philosophers tossed to each other over a bottle of wine. And we might answer it after thinking back to our own experiences of parks, from our youth or school or even a park we visited last week.

A park can certainly be the size and shape of two metered parking spaces, as the new Spring Street Parklets show. The two rectangular spaces, which came together with the backing of the City Council, the organization of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, and a grant from The Gilbert Foundation, made their official debut during Art Walk on Thursday, Feb. 14.

Of course, nature lovers, artists, and good-hearted types have been taking over parking spaces and making them one-day gardens in our city for years now, but those events are, well, events. The Spring Street Parklets are permanent, meaning they'll last long past their big Art Walk howdy.

Where to find them? Between Sixth and Seventh Streets on Spring Street. What you'll see in the parklets? Chairs, a nice bit of greenery, some take-it-easy space.

A few things to ponder as you lounge in this new-thinking bit of real estate. One? Spring Street is a fine place for parklets, given the fact that movie productions so often turn to it for that big city feel. Some leafy things go a long way. Two? The parklets and their impact on the area will indeed be studied over time, so this isn't the case of something being built and then, well, abandoned. Count on a hands-on approach to their stewardship.

And three? Suggestions are being taken for new parklet locations. Surely we can all think of a spot in the city that could do with a parking space or two being re-imagined for solely human use and some light communing with nature? Surely.

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