Gumbiner Park
Location
Long Beach, CA
timeline
2017
Role
Leader
Collaborator
Services
More Info
This project replaced a portion of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue that was previously known as one of the most dangerous intersections in Long Beach with a new recreation and open space that serves over 30,000 residents in a park-poor community in Central Long Beach.
City Fabrick developed the initial concept for realigning the intersections and worked with community members to design and advocate for the park. City Fabrick worked with city officials to reorganize local traffic patterns, decoupling two formerly one-way roadways, while securing funding for both the transportation and park projects.
Urban + Systems
City Fabrick developed the original concept for the street realignment and park by consolidating a complicated series of five intersections down to three, providing the opportunity to close the 600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue to vehicle traffic. The one block of right-of-way was then repurposed as an urban park that has quickly become the hub of a half dozen surrounding cultural, religious, and learning institutions.
Planning + Policy
Building + Interior
Landscape Architecture
City Fabrick also engaged community members in a collaborative design process for the schematic landscape design of Gumbiner Park. The park includes a small outdoor performance area, playground, a skate plaza, shade structures and a picnic area. Sustainable design features that include the use of recycled pavement, a bioswale that retains and filters stormwater, large canopy trees and a new green space in a largely built-out area. The park includes public art installations to complement the adjacent Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) and the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA).
Graphic
Engagement
Tactical
Organization
“This new park will bring people out of their homes to experience new activities such as yoga, the arts, and skateboarding.” -Lena Gonzalez, CA State Senator