“This is a beginning, something that’s good,...

“This is a beginning, something that’s good, something you build on,” sports great turned businessman Willie D. Davis said Saturday as he became the first person to take his place on Inglewood’s fledgling Promenade of Prominence.

A granite marker bearing the name and likeness of Davis--a pro football hall of famer who spent most of his 12-year career with Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers--was unveiled on La Brea Avenue in front of KACE radio. It is headquarters for Davis’ five-station broadcasting company.

Councilman Daniel K. Tabor, who emceed the sunny sidewalk event that slowed traffic and drew honks from passing motorists, said future markers will honor others who have contributed to Inglewood.

“The idea is to show that Inglewood isn’t a crime-ridden, decaying city, but one where people are building things up and saying there is a positive side to Inglewood,” Tabor said.

The Promenade of Prominence concept was born last fall in Watts, when Dr. James A. Mays--a cardiologist practicing in Inglewood and Los Angeles--borrowed an idea from the Hollywood Walk of Fame and honored veteran Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn in granite along the edge of Will Rogers County Park.

He said the new promenade in Inglewood is an expansion of that idea, aimed at highlighting what he called the hopeful side of black America, which he also is taking to Lynwood and Compton.

“We have a heart as a symbol, in contrast to a star,” Mays said.

“The heart is the symbol of giving.”