Parks Have Their Day in the Sun

There were some who didn’t think the two would be able to make it, but they did--beaming and eyes glistening, with a walker and a portable oxygen tank between them.

At Saturday’s opening of a new park near West Adams, hundreds of celebrants gave a standing ovation to Donald J. Richardson, 79, and his sister-in-law, Elinor Richardson, 84, who had donated the land.

On the same day in Silver Lake, Angelenos by the hundreds packed into a new recreation center to rededicate a park that has existed since at least the 1920s. They honored not only Santiago Cuevas, the director of recreation for Silver Lake Park, but also Edward Fickett, the architect who passed away last month, who had designed the buildings and its surroundings.

Efforts by the community were key to what happened at both parks, those involved say.

During the morning festivities at the Richardson Family Park, on the corner of 27th Street and South Budlong Avenue, no one seemed happier than “Don,” as the retired school administrator likes to be called. Ever since his family home was torn down following the death of his father, Lloyd, in 1970, he dreamed about having a community park at the property.

In a letter he wrote to his sister, Marva, in 1973, Richardson described how the neighborhood had become more crowded since he was a child, and lamented seeing children playing in the streets.

“I have the hope that the property can help solve some of the crowded conditions [in the area],” he wrote. ‘Could the property become a neighborhood park? Could it become a place where children can play and be safe?”

The letter was read aloud Saturday by a friend to allow Richardson, who has been having respiratory problems and is currently living at a Westside rehabilitation center, the chance to rest.

In ways small and large, the Richardson family has had a long history of giving, friends said. “[Don Richardson] is the most self-effacing, quiet social activist you can imagine,” said Alice Lynn. “He’s always there taking care of something or somebody.”

Richardson recalled how as a child growing up during the Great Depression he watched his parents help their neighbors. As landlords who owned apartments across the street, his parents always invited poor tenants over for dinner, and never pressured them for rent, he said, even though his family was also struggling because of his father’s disability.

Richardson said that as the neighborhood became more racially mixed in the 1950s, his parents remained. At one point, he recalled, “[My parents] were the only white family on that block. It never occurred to them that they were different. They considered it their community.”

Surveying the park, which has a basketball court, a playground and picnic tables, he called it “a community jewel” and gave credit to the neighborhood groups that provided assistance in making it possible.

“This is the fulfillment of a dream,” added Elinor Richardson, a retired school principal who lives in Pasadena.

Across town in Silver Lake, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg said the revitalized park there was “testimony to what can happen when you take the time to build consensus. It’s a day of victory for this community.”

Goldberg especially credited Fickett “for leaving this beautiful legacy to the Silver Lake community.” The new park contains an indoor basketball court, playrooms, offices and outdoor play and barbecue areas.

Fickett, a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and winner of numerous awards, often met with community members to find out what they wanted, said his widow, Joycie. “My husband put a lot of love into [the project].”

Also honored was Cuevas, director of recreation at the park, for leading the sports programs and helping the community quash previous plans for what they believed was an ugly, windowless, cinder block-like community center.

Residents said they prefer Fickett’s Spanish-style design, which fits in with the architecture of the neighborhood, said Maryann Kuk, a board member of the Silver Lake Residents Assn.