Rebirth of Whittier Boulevard : 65-Foot Arch Marks a Dream Come True

A dream became part of the East Los Angeles skyline Wednesday. As schoolchildren and other passers-by gawked and an old white dog slept undisturbed on the warm sidewalk, a five-story, 14-ton steel arch was erected across Whittier Boulevard near the Arizona Street intersection.

El Arco, as the gleaming 65-foot span of Spanish-Colonial sculpture is known, is the centerpiece of a multimillion-dollar community redevelopment project for the historic street.

“It’s the crowning touch to the dream,” said an enthusiastic Howard Barsky, spokesman for the Whittier Boulevard Merchants Assn. of East Los Angeles, which along with County Supervisor Ed Edelman, spearheaded the face lift.

The project, which is expected to be completed by early next year, also includes a “Hispanic Walk of Fame,” similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Aztec-style plaques will commemorate noteworthy Latinos. In addition, the boulevard will sport tile-covered bus stops, decorative crosswalks, Mexican fan palm trees and banners.

The dream germinated eight years ago when a group of merchants, fed up with the continued deterioration along the mile-long strip between the Long Beach Freeway and Atlantic Boulevard, began mapping a revitalization plan.

“We weren’t going to give up and move away,” said Barsky, who is a partner in a furniture store founded by his father 50 years ago. Like many of the merchants, Barsky lives in the area.

The boulevard, in an unincorporated area of the county, had originally been part of El Camino Real, a roadway blazed by Spanish missionaries. In later years it became a major shopping district for the area’s predominantly Latino population. But on Aug. 27, 1970, during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration, a riot erupted. Hundreds of people were injured, three were killed and dozens of stores were burned and looted. Blight descended on the area.

The merchant’s war on the litter, faded signs, cracked sidewalks and graffiti-stained walls was not easy. Most of the nearly 300 businesses crammed along the 14-block area are small mom-and-pop operations with high hopes for the neighborhood but little money.

“A pleasing architectural environment isn’t a luxury many of our people can afford,” said project architect Frank Villalobos, president of Barrio Planners, a nonprofit firm founded 15 years ago to help with community development.

The merchants finally obtained government help four years ago. But the project was stalled, mainly because state and county officials could not agree on how to finance it. Under an agreement reached in 1984, the state provided $1.8 million for road work, and the county provided an additional $1.4 million for roads and $3.1 million in community development grants for sidewalk and building improvements. On completion of the project, the state will relinquish control of the state-designated highway to the county.

The merchants themselves are privately spending about $5 million to refurbish their buildings, Barsky said.

The arch, which cost $280,000, will be dedicated at a noon ceremony Jan. 18.

‘It’s a Good Feeling’

“It’s one of the most unique jobs we’ve worked on,” said Scott Bustrum, project manager for Junior Steel Co., a City of Industry steel fabrication firm. “We’re usually building department stores and hospitals. It’s a good feeling to construct a landmark . . . to be part of a community project like this.”

The design of the arch necessitated use of heavy structural tubing, which had to be specially roll-formed at a plant in Clearfield, Utah, Bustrum said. The pieces were trucked to Huntington Park-based L.A. Galvanizing Co. for more work, then trucked to Junior Steel for welding.

One of the most difficult parts of the job was transporting the finished arch to the site, Bustrum said. Workers had to modify a conventional stretch trailer to hold the 28-foot-wide load. The late-night 12-mile journey took nearly three hours, and a crane was used to lift the arch into position.

“The arch is making a statement,” Villalobos said, craning his neck and squinting up at the new landmark flashing in the sun. “It is saying that Whittier Boulevard is here and is vital and beautiful, so come back.”