Tribute to King

Since the recommendation by the board of directors of Centre City Development Corp. on Jan. 25 to the San Diego City Council that the proposed linear park downtown be named “King Promenade,” several individuals and groups representing Afro-American communities have expressed their support.

Unfortunately, a few people have suggested that a simple park in downtown San Diego is not a sufficient tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We disagree.

The linear park, in the Marina district of downtown, was conceived over 15 years ago and incorporated into the 1976 Centre City Community Plan. When the San Diego Convention Center began construction, plans were drawn to build the park as a spectacular, colorful promenade and transportation corridor stretching for 11 blocks from the Gaslamp Quarter to Seaport Village on Harbor Drive. When completed, the redevelopment agency will have invested almost $20 million in the park.

Where once a narrow and debris-strewn strip of land flanked the southern gateway to our city, “King Promenade” will feature grassy lawns for picnicking; walkways for strolling, jogging and biking; green hedges; a 200-foot reflecting pond and bands of trees. The existing railroad and San Diego Trolley lines will be incorporated into the ambience of the park, as will three trolley stations.

In the earliest planning stages, the Centre City Arts Advisory Board (CCAAB) recommended public art as a feature of the park. It is proposed that a tribute to Dr. King be incorporated into the arts program for King Promenade. CCDC staff is working with the advisory board and a committee of the CCDC board toward a recommendation for an arts competition. The challenge to artists developing proposals would be to incorporate Dr. King’s words in a lineal way within the park and to provide a focal point within the park. This commemorative art would be installed by the redevelopment agency as the park is constructed, followed by other art work in other areas within the park. What is sought is a unique, commemorative tribute to Dr. King within the context of an exciting urban space.

King Promenade will link downtown San Diego to the waterfront, surrounded by new housing, new hotels, new businesses. It will be used by San Diegans and visitors, by trolley riders, by conventioneers, by joggers and picnickers, by senior citizens and by children. King Promenade may be non-traditional in its “linear” form, but then, Dr. King was non-traditional in his outlook. We feel that the beauty, depth and scope of planning for “King Promenade” will, indeed, offer a fitting accolade to a man who is a hero to Americans.

PAMELA M. HAMILTON, Executive Director, Centre City Development Corp.