sujaatbixbysun Among a recent flurry of developments that have given momentum to the rehabilitation Bixby Park, perhaps the most validating occurred last Tuesday, when Council member Suja Lowenthal delivered her State of the Second District address from the park’s historic band shell.

It was Lowenthal’s sixth such address, and each of the previous was presented at an indoor site, which ranged from the Aquarium of the Pacific to the Art Theatre. By now, Lowenthal and staff probably could have gone through the motions of this political ritual by muscle memory—especially since the motions of a state-of-the-anything address mostly consist of patting oneself on the back. On the basis of initiative alone, taking the event outdoors was a positive move.

But by bringing her State of the Second District address—and a couple hundred constituents—to Bixby Park, Lowenthal brought more to the show than a breath of fresh air. In fact, what may have seemed like an innovative atmosphere for a political function—salty breezes, stately trees in gentle sway, children’s happy playground squeals, even the starting-to-get-dark starting time—was actually a reproduction of the once-traditional formula for a public forum.

That became clear as Lowenthal walked across the wide, open stage of the bandshell—its classic architecture providing a backdrop of timeless stability—and began to speak to her constituents. Suddenly, she was the centerpiece of the simple-but-powerful tableau of American democracy—the local politician, standing alone on the stage of the town square, facing the people, making her case to them.

sujaatbixbymike For the majority of its 104 years, Bixby Park served as a town square for Long Beach, provided the stage for so many of the city’s richest traditions and significant events.

It was the site of the annual Iowa Picnic, which at its height drew approximately 100,000 people and categorized those attendees according to which of Iowa’s 99 counties they came from. Bixby Park’s location atop a waterfront bluff made it the embodiment of Iowa-By-The-Sea.

It was the destination of a 1927 Ku Klux Klan march, which began downtown and proceeded along Ocean Blvd. until, eventually, some 30,000 exhausted, white-robed racists recharged themselves for another session of hate by spreading out on Bixby Park’s gentle green grounds.

It was a campaign stop for 1928 Republican presidential candidate Herbert Hoover, whose march to a landslide victory in November included a speech to the people of Long Beach that he delivered from the Bixby Park band shell stage where Lowenthal spoke to 2nd District residents last Tuesday.

By establishing that connection—between disparate political events, across a span of 83 years—Lowenthal recast Bixby Park in the role that made it a lode star for Long Beach through so much of its history, providing the opportunity for that band shell to again become one of the city’s center stages.

“Conducting the State of the 2nd District meeting here was a pretty big deal for the folks who have been working hard to rehabilitate and revitalize Bixby Park,” said Claudia Schou, who formed Friends of Bixby Park a couple of years ago to give organizational weight to that effort. “I think Suja knew that, and I thank her for it.

Lowenthal was back at Bixby Park on Saturday, when her office coordinated a two-hour general cleanup of the Broadway Corridor that included the Alamitos Beach Neighborhood Association (ABNA), the On Broadway Merchant Association and Friends of Bixby Park.

Only six weeks ago, those groups were among seven constituent associations whose representatives signed a letter to Lowenthal and 3rd district Council member Gary DeLong complaining that an insufficient response to a variety of unsafe and unsavory conditions at Bixby Park were stymieing fundraising for the park’s rehabilitation.

A few days later, GreaterLongBeach.com reader Kat Peterson followed up with a words-and-photos report that documented those complaints.

Since then, however, much has changed.

A $30,000 infusion of cash from Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe jolted Bixby Park’s fundraising effort out of its stagnation, and the push is on for sponsors—individuals, clubs, businesses—willing to spend $1,500 for a park bench inscribed with their names. There’s even a Paypal button on the Friends of Bixby Park website. bixbynativegarden

A native plant garden will be installed near the playground—the target date is Oct. 22—through a partnership between Friends of Bixby Park and Sustainable Long Beach.

The Bixby Park Chess Club has been resumed, and the word is that some of the skater kids have joined. One-hour meetings begin at 5 p.m. on Thursdays.

“The residents and the community around Bixby Park are really lucky to have supportive city council representation and an excellent Parks and Recreation Department,” said Schou. “But most importantly, we are fortunate to have a County Supervisor who recognizes the efforts of the community to improve and rehabilitate a historic local park—and offer assistance when needed.”