Second Street Park

For the past eight decades, Covina's Second Street has been a rather bleak expanse of asphalt, but look how pretty it used to be! From 1923-1949, Second had a 16-foot-wide median strip^1,2 running from San Bernardino Road south to Badillo that was graced by 48 Queen palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana). They called it "Second Street Park."³

Looking north on Second Street from College Street, c.1940. Photo courtesy Covina Valley Historical Society c/o Powell Camera Shop.

So why was this visually-appealing landscaping done away with? You guessed it: parking.² Initially, the palms were replanted along the sidewalks and elsewhere,³ but eventually all but one of them were removed. This single, solitary palm at the northeast corner of the Badillo alley is now all that remains of old Second Street Park.

Source: Google Street View.

Kind of sad, isn't it? Wouldn't it be nice if Covina were to re-beautify Second in the 21st century? I can hardly think of another major street in town that is more in need of aesthetic improvement.

References:

¹ Covina Argus, July 28, 1922, p.1.
² Covina Argus-Citizen, April 4, 1947, p.8.
³ Covina Argus-Citizen, June 18, 1948, p.1.

 

Covina's Old Neighbors

The localities described below would have been household names to Covinans during the the town's first half-century, but most are unfamiliar today.

USGS map from 1908 showing Covina and environs in the early 20th century. (Note the original alignments of roads in the area of present-day West Covina.)
Click on the image for an enlargement.