New and Improved H.P.

Huntington Park might look drastically different in 20 years. The stores of old architecture and sidewalks might start looking more modern. The city of Huntington Park and local businesses have already begun gradually redesigning Pacific Boulevard to help the city become more attractive and affluent over the next few decades. On Pacific Boulevard, a new modern design will have the shopping district looking like a luxurious West L.A. plaza, with parklets and pretty drought-resistant plants adorning the sidewalks. According to the Huntington Park Summer 2015 newsletter, the city plans to beautify Pacific Boulevard between Florence and Slauson by adding “innovative trash receptacles, attractive street signage, lighting, and water-efficient landscaping.” With a $2.7 million grant, these streetscape improvements will make the city look different, as it shifts from old art deco architecture into a more simple architecture found in wealthier shopping centers. For example, Huntington Park has added parklets — rectangular eating areas that occupy parking spaces in front of Tierra Mia, Dino’s Burgers, Las Champas Pupuseria, and other restaurants. Huntington Park’s current art deco style can be found in the abandoned Warners Theater, the Park Theatre, and some of the store buildings. This architecture features detailed, bold geometric shapes and bold colors (i.e. Empire State Building, Los Angeles City Hall). In addition, the city also has Spanish colonial revival architecture that features terracotta roofs and arches (i.e. City Hall, bus stops) and makes the city’s buildings resemble the Spanish buildings in Latin America. Modernizing the city would add simpler, flatter shapes to buildings, such as that of the parklets and the new AT&T store, that mirror luxurious, modern shopping centers like South Gate’s Azalea plaza, Downtown L.A’s Fig at 7th, and West Hollywood’s Beverly Center. This modern style shifts away from the art deco and Spanish style that has characterized the city, and the question becomes whether the city will lose its Latino culture with the modernization.

Mitzi Perez, a Libra senior, reasoned that the redesign will help the city because “it’s all about the image you give to visitors.” Some cities with a significant Hispanic population like Downey appeal to some residents because these cities boast businesses and restaurants that American society associates with wealth. Discontent of the lack of wealthy businesses in Huntington Park was shown during an October 6, 2015 Huntington Park council meeting. A resident complained that a city he visited in Mexico had better restaurants and stores than Huntington Park, which he shunned for having too many quinceañera stores. Nevertheless, Huntington Park will certainly change over the next few decades as the city and businesses look for new ways to spur economic development. Maybe the city will lose its old style that accentuates the Latino culture, or maybe the modern designs can coexist with the quinceañera, tacos, discounted clothing, and vaquero stores that make Huntington Park iconic to Latinos in Los Angeles.

NEXT UP: A NEW METRO RAIL LINE IN HP?

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