Adams Square Mini Park

Los Angeles County, with its notorious car culture, has no shortage of gas stations.

Aside from the massive Brand Park nestled at the base of Glendale’s Verdugo mountains, the town is dotted with smaller neighborhood parks, providing walkable green spaces every few blocks.

When the residents of Adams Square wanted to add a gathering space of their own, they were confronted with an abandoned 1936 Streamline Moderne gas station which had been out of use since the 1980s. Rather than tear it down and build a park from scratch, Glendale refurbished the station and incorporated it into the design of the new park.

Completed in 2007, Adams Square Mini Park is less than a third of an acre, it packs in a small playground for the kids, some picnic tables for the grown-ups, and a shady plot of grass. Now the old station serves as a picnic pavilion and occasional outdoor art gallery for Adams Square residents. Added to the Glendale Register of Historic Resources in 2014, it stands as a testament to both Los Angeles’ historic love for cars and a more on-foot lifestyle.