The Leonard Hill Arts Plaza
Creation of an arts plaza in the 6-acre park adjacent to the new Sixth Street Viaduct and bridge.
Key Impact
The creation of a new, dedicated arts complex for Angelenos
A key gift brings the arts to yet another spot in downtown L.A.
In early 2016, the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles received a major philanthropic gift of $1.9 million from developer Leonard Hill to fund the design, construction, and initial programming of an arts plaza beneath the new Sixth Street Bridge.
The gift includes funding for a stage and a public performing arts series, features that will draw valuable recreational and community-building opportunities to the area. The arts plaza will be one part of the Sixth Street Viaduct Park, Arts, and River Connectivity (PARC) Improvements project running adjacent to the new bridge and the L.A. River. The new bridge, designed by HNTB and Michael Maltzan, is scheduled for completion in 2019, with arts plaza programming beginning the following year.
Leonard Hill, who passed away in 2016, was a founding partner of Linear City Development, a native Angeleno, and a longtime television producer. He helmed notable developments like the Toy Factory Lofts and Biscuit Lofts residential adaptive reuse projects, both linchpins in the renewal of the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District neighborhood. Hill’s gift demonstrates the potential for public-private partnerships to transform city centers for the better.
Issue Area
Partners
Department of Recreation & Parks/City of Los Angeles
Department of Cultural Affairs/City of Los Angeles
The Leonard Hill Charitable Trust
Programs Similar to The Leonard Hill Arts Plaza
MFLA served as fiscal agent for Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a vast, collaborative exhibition of Latin American and Latino art. We partnered with the Getty Foundation and the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs to pull off a one-of-a-kind exposition.
Sparking the arts in a great but underutilized space, a planning process set the groundwork for L.A.’s next cultural hub.
The Neighborhood Youth Arts Profile is a key component of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Arts Profile, a citywide effort that tracks cultural and socioeconomic indicators across all Los Angeles neighborhoods.