Lytton Plaza and a Piece of My Heart

As a form of civic engagement, I spent a couple hours this afternoon in the 83 degree heat to research the progress of Lytton Plaza, renovated in Fall 2009, as part of the commons.

I shot four photos (on my low end, "stupid" cell phone camera) and then had to go meet the four parties and get more info for my cutlines. I was feeling Bill Cunningham, whose biopic was showing nearby at the Aquarius.  

First were a group of teenagers, including two who identified themselves as Ali Andrews of Menlo Park and Emma Beesly. Ali and Emma were dangling their feet into the waters of the fountain, although I had to follow them to their SUV  in the parking lot to get their names. 

Second, I snapped a shot of Palo Alto's Bill Cortright, in Scout leader garb, leading a bunch of youngsters on an outing to the nearby pizza joint, but he also stopped to explain the public art piece, "Digital DNA," by Varella and Maltz. The kids, who appeared to be between eight and ten years of age, first gave a quick check, displaying some fine teamwork, of the sculpture's mounting. Like a weeble (not a weeblo), Digital DNA wobbles but won't fall down, the boys proved for us perhaps worried art lovers.

Third, I caught up with blues musician Dave Hydie, who says he has busked in the plaza about twenty times since the renovation, but as a Cubberley grad himself, remembers the site from way back when.

Last, I caught a group from the Stanford Runners Club, including Claire Weinar, cooling themselves after a brisk workout. 

So from these four cases, I would say the Plaza is getting pretty good use. (Although I also heard that the Wednesday Downtown Farmers Market had been discontinued, according to Sue Webb, who had been holding jam sessions as part of the festivities; she said she will continue the Friday open mics, however).

Although I think of myself as a liberal (and a "paranoid optimist," to borrow from John Micklethwait, who spoke Tuesday at Stanford), I have to admit I missed all the free speech era gatherings at Lytton Plaza in my youth. I do recall musician Jamie Stewart (of the rock band Xiu-Xiu, the nephew of John Stewart) suggesting a gathering or be-in for the passing  of Allen Ginsburg, circa 1998. Also, when I ran for City Council in 2009, it was suggested to me that I look into the public-private partnership in which local merchants and developers gave $400,000 to match the same amount from the public coffers to upgrade the park. Were they contributing to the public good in a form of noblesse oblige, or using public funds for a private end? I still think it's a debatable point. Also, I question the rules posted at the park, which claim that a group of 25 or more people, "spectators or participants," cannot assemble without permission from the City. Huh? What happened to The First Amendment? Similarly, I cringe at the use of the term "free speech zone" as it has been applied to this location: all of Palo Alto is covered by the First Amendment, thank you very much. 

Although there were a handful of people at Lytton Plaza Wednesday that I was uncertain about wanting to interact with, I think they have inalienable rights and should be considered full citizens unless proven otherwise. I still bristle at the fact that civic leaders from the Friends of Palo Alto Parks referred to "sketchy people" and "undesirables" in interviews with, respectively, the Palo Alto Campanile and The Palo Alto Weekly. 

I'm not sure if I understood or agree with everything said by John Micklethwait of The Economist the day before— regarding wealth inequalities versus "infinite tolerance"—but maybe he is saying that in Palo Alto, those of us in the middle must learn to make do with our nine billionaires and our "great unwashed" (you know, the ones who dangle their feet into the fountain).