Best Valentine's Day Date - Public Art for Lovers

"Heroic Rendezvous" at Heisler Park, Laguna Beach

Visit the most charming and romantic public art across L.A. and Southern California. 

Artworks of friendship, love and passion are on show in many downtown plazas, parks and gardens, and we highlight some of the very best for Valentine's Day in Southern California.

A visit to these famous collections of sculptures, murals, and fountains - from the abstract to the whimsical -  promises amazement and delight, and maybe even a bit of love.

"Lucy and Desi" (2000)
by Francois Bardol

Public Art for Lovers 

Culver City:  downtown, Town Plaza and City Hall
   "Lucy and Desi" - downtown
   "Quotation Courtyard" - City Hall Courtyard
   "The Lion's Fountain"  - Town Plaza


Laguna Beach:  
Heisler Park Sculpture Garden 
   "Heroic Rendezvous"
   "Support"
Main Beach
   "Grace"

"Good Friends - Nakayoshi"
(1984) by Eiichi Ishida

Beverly Hills:  
Downtown  
   "Gordon and Lily"
Beverly Gardens Park
   "Hymn of Life: Tulips"
 

Newport Beach:  Central Library, 
Civic Center Park and Corporate Plaza 
   "Good Friends - Nakayoshi"
 

"Serenade" 
(2001) by Dee Clements

Cerritos:  Senior Center, Sculpture Garden 
and Civic Center
   "Serenade"
   "Illuminations"
   Cerritos Sculpture Garden

After you've visited some of these wonderful places, why not end the day at dusk to experience two of L.A.'s best illuminated public arworks:
"Urban Light" on Wilshire Blvd. in front of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
and "Electric Fountain"

"Urban Light"

"Electric Fountain"

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorials and Parks

These Southern California memorials to Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. are more than statues - they're impressive and moving artistic tributes with sculpture as well as landscape design.

One of the earliest memorials to Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Southern California is this 1971 statue by Julian Martinez Soto in front of the San Bernardino City Hall. Funds for the statue and its 1981 installation and dedication came from a strong community effort, proudly described in several bronze plaques.
LOCATION: in front of Old City Hall, 300 N. "D" Street, San Bernardino, California, USA

In the Willowbrook area of South Los Angeles, across from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, Tina Allen's bas relief sculpture of Rev. King, Jr. and Dr. Charles R. Drew has graced the corner of the King Drew Magnet High School for more than two decades.
LOCATION: 1601 E. 120th Street, Willowbrook, South Los Angeles, California, USA

"Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.and Dr. Charles R. Drew"
(1998) by Tina Allen

The City of Riverside's 1999 Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, on the City's Main Street Mall, contains the moving "I Have a Dream" sculpture by Lisa Reinertson, which depicts Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. striding forward with two young children under his arms. Etched quotations surround the sculpture and are embedded in the granite pavement.
LOCATION: Main Street Pedestrian Mall between 9th Street and University Avenue, Riverside, California, USA

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s image can be found in many tributes to famous heroes, and "World Stage Legacy" at the Los Angeles Colosseum presents an especially sensitive portrayal. The large 220-foot wide mural by David Flores shows an array of famous speakers and athletes who have appeared at the Los Angeles Colosseum. Next to President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. is shown in a prayerful moment.

LOCATION: 3911 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

In addition to public artworks, two memorial parks in the Los Angeles area pay tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. with both recreational and contemplative features.
     The Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in South Los Angeles includes a baseball diamond, lighted basketball courts, lighted tennis courts, a children's play area and picnic tables.

LOCATION: Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, 3916 S. Western Avenue, South Los Angeles, California, USA

     The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Tree Grove was dedicated in March 2018. The inspirational pathway is flanked by boulders containing his inspiring quotes and leads to a 20-foot high obelisk monument. The memorial offers spectacular views of downtown Los Angeles, and by late 2020 it will connect a 13-mile Park-to-Playa trail between Baldwin Hills and the beach.
LOCATION: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Tree Grove, Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, 4100 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

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CHINESE NEW YEAR 2020 - Public Art

Los Angeles Chinatown's Public Art for 

The Year of the Rat

L.A.'s Chinatown is a wonderland of art and architecture. In honor of Chinese New Year 2020, we highlight these three locations of sculptures, statues and artistic features that reflect the beauty and variety of Chinese cultural traditions.   

Happy Chinese New Year 2020!

LOCATION #1:  Chinatown Gold Line Station

Chinatown's Metro Station is nothing short of incredible, and it serves as an excellent car-free entrance to L.A.'s Chinatown and its Chinese New Year festivities.  

Here you find the station artwork "The Wheels of Change", with pagoda-style architecture, a pavement medallion of Chinese Characters (with translations:  "Calculated Waiting," "Collective Force", etc.), stylized seating at ground level, and the large Chinese Bell across College St. to the south.

medallion, part of "The Wheels of Change" [photo: MTA]

Chinese Bell

LOCATION #2:  Chinatown Central Plaza

943 N. Broadway

Chinatown East Gate

Two blocks to the northwest is Chinatown's Central Plaza, flanked by east and west entrance gates in traditional Chinese style. 


The plaza has two popular public statues:  the bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen, recently re-gilded and facing the east entrance gate, and the bronze statue of Bruce Lee in one of his characteristically dynamic poses, located around the corner. 

Statue of Bruce Lee (2013)

Statue of Sun Yat-sen (circa 1961)

South of the plaza at 913 N. Broadway are the "Chinatown Mosaics" - three large ceramic tile mosaic panels mounted onto the façade of the Plum Tree Inn.  Each panel depicts a different theme and artistic style, created in Hong Kong by unknown artists. 

• "Picture of Viewing Waterfalls in Summer Mountains" created in the Sung Dynasty style (960-1279)

• "Palace in Heaven" depicting the monkey king from the 14th Century "Hsi-yu chi"/"Journey to the West" tale

• "Four Beauties Catching Swimming Fish" created in the southern China style

three Chinatown Mosaics (circa 1968)

"Four Beauties Catching Swimming Fish"
[detail]

LOCATION #3:  Thien Hau Temple
756 Yale Street

A 7-minute walk south on Yale St. from the Central Plaza is Thien Hau Taoist Temple, an incredible decorative masterpiece. 

The Chinese New Year's Midnight Temple Ceremony provides one of the best opportunities to view the Temple's artwork and architecture while enjoying the Ceremony's traditional incense burning, lion dancers, and 500,000 firecrackers.  Visitors may also make offerings to deities.

Midnight Temple Ceremony:

WHERE:  Thien Hau Temple, 756 Yale St., Chinatown, Los Angeles, California, USA

WHEN:  10:00 p.m. - 12:30 a.m., 

                Saturday, January 24, 2020

All photographs, videos and text are the sole property of Public Art in Public Places and are copyright protected from unauthorized use.

PUBLIC ART IN PUBLIC PLACES © 2020 All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction of website contents, inclusive of photographs, video, and text, is expressly prohibited.