To Kill a Rose Garden

There are times when the leaders of Los Angeles seem perversely intent on living up to the image that many outsiders have of them--insensitive and uncouth Babbits who would, say, dig up a garden to put in a parking lot.

The Los Angeles Coliseum Commission wins the booby prize this time with its plan to dig up the lovely old rose garden in Exposition Park in order to increase the parking capacity of the other facilities there--including the Memorial Coliseum, Sports Arena and three museums.

In fairness, it should be pointed out that the commission’s plan calls for the garden to be dug up only temporarily. After a two-level underground garage was built on the spot, a new rose garden would be planted on its roof, at ground level. But the new garden would not be the same. It would not be a tranquil island where pedestrians could stroll amid Victorian gazebos, but a patch of greenery surrounded by automobile ramps leading into the parking lot. “It will be a place full of activity and people coming and going,” says Robert Harris, dean of architecture at USC, “a different feeling altogether.”

Exposition Park needs more parking, to be sure. But there are plenty of barren state-owned lots south and west of the Coliseum on which multi-story parking structures could be built with far less disruption. The only reason the commission focused on the rose garden is because it sits on the north side of the park, next to Exposition Boulevard, which would allow for a smoother traffic flow. This time Angelenos must opt for aesthetics over easy riding.

The Coliseum Commission--which is made up of state, city and county representatives--should keep its hands off the rose garden. And if it moves forward with this terrible parking plan, the state --which owns most of the property in Exposition Park--must put a stop to it. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing? Having folks in Sacramento save Los Angeles from its worst instincts.