Community Corner

UPDATE: Locals Hope to Revitalize Veterans Square Memorial

Clean up effort will take place throughout the week.

Update: As of Tuesday afternoon, a few small shrines had been placed around the square. However, Rick Marquez was still hopeful that more locals would participate in the shrine building effort.

See the flier attached at right to see more details about how to get involved.

Longtime Highland Park resident Rick Marquez keeps an annual Memorial Day routine.

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It starts with him arriving at the Veterans Square Memorial at the corner of York and Figueroa early on the Saturday morning before the holiday and asking the local homeless who often gather there to clear out for a few hours. He makes this request politely, as he understands that some of them are war veterans, and have no place else to go.

It's not that he doesn't want them to be there or considers them a nuisance; it's just that the next step in his routine is to power wash away the months of accumulated dirt, grime and detritus that have accumulated at the square.

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The following Monday, Marquez will return to the square for a modest Memorial Day celebration presented by the American Legion Post 206.

This year, Marquez will follow that same routine, but he is also looking for some help.

Marquez, along with fellow Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council member Trisha Gossett, is hoping to beautify the square throughout the week leading up to Memorial Day.

As of Saturday afternoon, Gossett said she was busy soliciting from local businesses donations of flowers and planter boxes, which could be used to build small shrines at the square.

Gossett is also hoping that community members will see the work being done at the square throughout the week and be encouraged to leave their own small shrines to veterans.

"We never really pay the correct amount of homage to the people who have actually fought and died for this country so we can enjoy the level of freedom we have," Gossett said. "We're energized by this effort because it's the right thing to do."

Marquez said that, in addition to beautifying the square in preparation for Memorial Day, the neighborhood council has also reached out to city officials in hopes of sparking a larger restoration effort.

Thanks to Marquez's efforts, the Department of Water and Power recently restored electricity to the square, which will allow the fountain and lights to again operate.

Marquez said he will also request funds from the neighborhood council to create a few plaques to recognize veterans from the area who have served in the war.

In the future, he also hopes the city can remove the newspaper stands and bench advertising that populate the square.

"I've been to the war memorials in Washington D.C, and I never saw any bench advertising there," he said. "It's just not appropriate."

Marquez said that, if given the proper care, the square could serve as a proper gateway to the neighborhood and a tribute to the area's veterans.

“It’s one of the better memorials in Los Angeles, but it could be nicer,” he said. “The more we spruce it up, the better it will reflect on us as a community.”


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