By Susan Motander
Last Saturday, Jan. 23, local citizens and dignitaries gathered to celebrate the official opening of Station Square in Monrovia, the transit center that encompasses the new Gold Line Station, a park with bandstand, a promenade, and demonstration garden of historic and drought-tolerant plants. And in the middle is the yet-to-be-refurbished historic Santa Fe Depot.
There were the usual speeches and a few unusual touches including Mayor Tom Adams taking selfies with each of the dignitaries and an extemporaneous speech from 11-year-old Nathan Lujan extolling the virtues of public transportation. But perhaps the highlight of the morning was the prediction by the mayor that the area surrounding the station may become as popular as the city’s Old Town. In a suggestion as to how to distinguish between the two areas, the mayor suggested that Old Town be designated as “Uptown” with the area surrounding the station being “Downtown.”
A traditional ribbon was cut, opening Station Square to the public and beginning a celebration. There were booths from Metro, various city departments, and even the merchants from the area surrounding the station to interest the adults present. The Delgado Brothers provided a musical background for the celebration, and as the mayor made clear, the group provided the music for free … being “true Monrovians.”
For the kiddies there was a lot more. There are two play areas in the park itself. On the grassy area in front of bandstand, games were organized by community services. Paint N’ Play provided crafts for the little ones as an outlet for their creativity. But to them, the highlight may well have been the trackless train providing rides around the central courtyard in front of the historic depot and in the area leading to the new Gold Line Depot. At last there were passenger trains pulling up to the Monrovia Depot once more.
