The Civic Center

Every tour of Inglewood should begin with the Civic Center which has always been the heart of the City. When it was incorporated a century ago, downtown was where people congregated. They shopped on Commercial and Market Streets, went to Inglewood High School and paraded along Manchester Boulevard. Frequent streetcars could take people to LA or along the coast. In the 60's cities throughout the country were building new urban complexes, reinventing the concept of creating urban spaces in the age of the automobile. The Santa Monica Mall had been completed in 1965 as one of the earliest dedicated pedestrian spaces; Century City was well underway. Charles Luckman, the Civic Center's architect had just completed the Prudential Center in Boston so he was very interested in incorporating all of the current state-of-the-art urban planning concepts prevalent during that era where the notion of creating a civic place blending art and architecture.

The Civic Center proper is actually 29 acres encompassing a collection of public buildings from police headquarters to public health facilities. But the heart of it are the 3 blocks between City Hall and Grevillea Park. The cars are buried below the 'people space' which is abundant and filled with works of art. Buildings are concrete which was considered the most advanced building material of the era suitable for the permanence of civic structures. There are sunscreens, tinted windows, and air conditioning throughout. On the outside pedestrian ramps link the two major buildings: City Hall and the Public Library. Three of the signature pieces of the City's Art Collection are located there The Written Word, Skedans and Incomplete Conch Shell all commissioned for the Civic Center.

Inglewood also has a thriving arts community the evidence of which is reflected in the artworks created by Inglewood artists and residents in the lobby inside.

Noteworthy too are two monuments. The War Memorial Obelisk commemorates Inglewood's Veterans who fought in this century's conflicts and brings home the role that Inglewood natives have played on the national stage. The History of Transportation commissioned at the dawn of jet travel is a snapshot of how people moved in the 30's before Los Angeles became the 'City of the Automobile' and before a section of Inglewood's farmland became LAX.

Across the street is Inglewood High School; The Inglewood Project is painted on its Manchester Boulevard facade. Not to be missed is Cafetales Restaurant designed by Martin Stern, Jr who went on to design most of the casinos in Las Vegas, and Inglewood's shopping street, Market Street, a block away.

1. Inglewood City Hall
2. Skedans
3. Compromising is Key
4. Inglewood Forever
5. Inglewood Public Library
6. The Written Word
7. Inglewood Stories
8. Inglewood Genesis
9. Self Evident (for Sally Hemings)
10. Bookmark @ The Inglewood Public Library
11. Incomplete Conch Shell
12. Inglewood War Memorial
13. The History of Transportation
14. Inglewood High School
15. The Inglewood Project
16. Market Street
17. Cafetales Restaurant