Designed by Hamilton High School graduate and Guggenheim Fellowship recipient Todd Gray, the steel sculpture on the front of the Los Angeles Fire Station 43 on Regent St. and Motor Ave. depicts palm fronds and a subtle palm of a hand, quietly apparent at night with focused lighting on two panels. The color palette references the ocean, sky, sun and land. “I want it to be subtle; you will be living with this art for many years,” said Gray “I would like it to reveal itself over time.”
Sadly, the opposite happened instead. Since the sculpture was completed in 2005, the trees and landscaping chosen for the station had slowly engulfed the art, blocking the subtle palm and fronds from view. Many residents of Palms never noticed the sculpture, and long assumed the blue beams and colored panels were part of the building’s architecture instead of a separate work of art.
The street view of Fire Station 43 from 2011 to 2017
In 2019, the old landscaping was cleared away to make way for more drought tolerant and water-conscious plants. During The March 4th 2020 General Assembly meeting of the Palms Neighborhood Council, members discussed the motion to authorize funding for the fire station’s new landscaping project. A $2,000 budget was proposed for the purchase and planting of new plants and gravel. During the meeting, concerned stakeholders brought up the sculpture, and their worries that new landscaping would again obscure Todd Gray’s unique art.
“I don't believe that many folks knew that it was a sculpture or even the artist responsible.” said Randell Erving, Vice President of the Palms Neighborhood Council.
After discussion, the firefighters in Fire Station 43 committed themselves to choosing plants and a landscaping design that would not block the sculpture, ensuring that Palms residents would be able to enjoy Gray’s tribute to the neighborhood for many more years to come.