Historic fire station at 5730 S. Crenshaw Blvd. to be converted to art center

A presentation to the Los Angeles Board of Cultural Affairs Commissioners offers a look at plans to transform historic Fire Station 54 in Hyde Park into a community art center.

The century-old building, located at 5730 S. Crenshaw Boulevard, has not operated as a fire station since the late 1980s, and was recently reopened for community events such as a weekly farmer's market. The Department of Cultural Affairs, in conjunction with Good Project Co. and architecture firm Perkins&Will, intends to convert the property to the Manchester Junior Arts Center. Within the interior of the historic building, as well as in new construction along its eastern perimeter, the project would create a series of labs aimed at promoting different art forms, including painting, sculpting, sewing, graphic design, wood working, and even cooking.

Perkins&Will, which is also designing the Destination Crenshaw project which stretches from Hyde Park through Leimert Park alongside the at-grade tracks of the K Line, aims to transform make a more welcoming exterior to the site with the addition of new landscaping and pathways. Construction at the rear of the property would include the construction of labs to house various art disciplines, as well as a covered shade structure at the southeast corner that is shown as an outdoor event space hosting performances and screenings. New solar panels would cover parking along the southern side of the property.

The Manchester Junior Arts Center is listed in an agenda for the Commission as a roughly $11.5 million project.

Destination Crenshaw, the more than one-mile art and park project on the adjacent street segment, has been plagued by delays. Various sites proposed for new green spaces and public amenities remain incomplete, even after the first elements of the project were slated to open in 2023.

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• Hyde Park (Urbanize LA)