"Vista Hermosa" is a Beautiful View in any Language

By Ed Fuentes
Published: Sunday, July 20, 2008, at 07:09AM

Vista Ed Fuentes [Flickr]

Opening ceremonies at Vista Hermosa, located west of the 110 on 1st Street.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — On Saturday morning, the upper and lower eco-friendly fields of Vista Hermosa Natural Park were brightened by the colors of soccer uniforms, as young players darted in and around trails, rocks and grass. Some lingered at the edge of a cliff to stare at the dark green synthetic turf of the soccer field, while others obeyed coaches’ orders to sit and listen to the opening day speeches.

The ceremonies brought out a crowd of interested community members and involved politicians, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Councilmembers Ed Reyes and Jose Huizar. All were excited to debut the new 10.4 acre space in City West.

To the delight of the soccer players, the tightly scheduled ceremony took an unexpected turn when a trained falcon kept everyone waiting while sitting on the arm of a handler at the top of the hill. The bird surveyed the park and, after coaxing, flapped a wing to the crowd and then flew off toward Echo Park, leaving a trainer on the lower stage holding bait.

This last delay even amused two men raised in local neighborhoods, Councilmembers Reyes and Huizar, who along with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the city’s Recreation and Parks department, LAUSD, the State, the County, and private funders LA84 and the Wiengart Foundation, were finally able to debut the new green space.

The falcon was just following the spirit of the day and seeking some urban refuge.


Welcome to the Park Ed Fuentes

OPEN ARMS: José Huizar welcomes Vista Hermosa with open arms. In 2003, as a board member of LAUSD, Huizar began an 11th hour redesign on the troubled site that was quickly backed by Reyes and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy,

By the Grotto Ed Fuentes

ON THE ROCKS: Alongside the waterfall and small pond, the audience sat in the grotto for the opening day ceremonies. “Let’s not wait another 100 years to open a park Downtown,” said Congressman Xavier Becerra.

Color Guard Ed Fuentes

TAKING THE LEAD: Bagpipes led the Belmont High School Color guard along the trail that encircle the park designed for users to experience nature.

Chant Ed Fuentes

NATIVE BLESSING: The Gabrieleno/Tongva Tribal Council, a San Gabriel-based organization, burns ceremonial white sage and prayed for safety and health “of all those who use the land.”

the field Ed Fuentes

INSPECTORS: Multi-ethnic Boys and girls soccer teams took turns looking over the FIFA regulated soccer field. The field will be operated under Rec and Parks with a joint agreement with the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center.

Signing Ed Fuentes

SIGNING-OFF THE PROJECT: Reyes joined others and signed a Daily News editorial cartoon showing the high school with a sign saying “Coming Soon: Belmont Nature Preserve and Recreation Area.” The caption reads “Bats in the Belfry.”

Long View Ed Fuentes

LOOKING WEST: The park, seen being prepped for the crowd, is designed to attract migrating birds with native plants that require little water and maintenance.

Mayor V Ed Fuentes

DEMO: Also joining the speeches was Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who later took a tour of the park. In the parking lot, he demonstrated how the “green” parking lot, made of decomposed granite, will allow water to soak into the ground.

Soccer Kids Ed Fuentes

HILLSIDE: Large fields reach the bluff and beyond the windmill, a north gate allows the adjacent neighborhood to enter the park.

fly away Ed Fuentes

ESCAPE: After the speeches, a once injured bird was released by members of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. “Watch out for the loose falcon,” quipped someone.

Green Roof Ed Fuentes

GREEN ON TOP: Vista Hermosa Park’s buildings are capped with plants to retain water and provide insulation. They also offer an attractive look to those in airplanes and skyscapers, says SMMC.

Downtown Divas Ed Fuentes

DIVAS WITH DOWNTOWN: Seen from the rear, the grotto is designed for be a theater and concert performance space. The Mariachi Divas played before the ceremonies, and during the community lunch.


Comments

1
Brigham writes:

Beautiful!

# on Jul.21.2008 AT 03:03 PM
2
Victor Atomic writes:

What a great new space!

# on Jul.21.2008 AT 11:31 PM
3
William writes:

The park is nice, something should be done to minimize the amount of foot traffic on the grass though…i dont think it would look as nice as it does now with the big footmark pathces on the grass

# on Jul.22.2008 AT 02:43 PM
4
gerald writes:

William, the whole point of having a park is to be able to use it not just to look at it. I hope the grass does turn a little brown because people use it. Now, we need more parks in downtown.

# on Jul.31.2008 AT 05:31 PM

Your Comment:

YOUR INFORMATION:

Want blogdowntown to remember you?
Create a user account or log in.

Name:
Email:
URL:
GUIDELINES:
  • Comments should be on the topic of the post or they will be removed.
  • Use the live preview below to see how your comment will look before posting.
  • Keep it civil, everyone. If you're attacking people instead of arguments, or being overly profane, expect your comment to get deleted.

FORMATTING BASICS:

blogdowntown uses Markdown formatting.

_Italics_
__Bold__
<http://url.to.link>
[link text](http://url)

COMMENT:

Preview

Start typing...