Lakewood Then and Now

Lakewood Then and Now is a project to bring past and current images of life in Lakewood to your neighborhood. The utility boxes that dot Lakewood’s streets, generally at intersections, are a natural canvas for a wrap-around mural that blends neighborhood specific historical photographs with images of today’s vibrant, diverse community.

Lakewood Then and Now is part of the city’s celebration of its 70th anniversary of incorporation.

Lakewood Then and Now is unrolling in phases, with the first seven utility boxes already selected. Lakewood has about 50 of these, so new murals will wrap utility boxes in sequence until all of them have become reminders of the city’s past and present. The murals are made of durable material and protected by an anti-graffiti coating.

The first utility box to be wrapped is at the southwest corner of Clark Avenue and South Street opposite Mayfair Park. As murals are completed, the individual pages will appear below.

Bloomfield

Eastern neighborhoods, developed by several builders, joined the already incorporated city of Lakewood in a series of annexations in the 1960s. The neighborhood adjacent to Bloomfield Park was built by Emblem Homes beginning in 1961. Bloomfield Park became part of the city in June 1964.

Bolivar

Bolívar Park is one of three Lakewood parks—all dedicated on the same day in 1957— each named for a leader in the long effort to free Central and South America from domination by the empire of Spain. Bolívar Park was named for Simón Bolívar, the best known of these liberators.

Del Valle

Del Valle Park is home to Veterans Memorial Plaza, where annual Memorial Day observances honor Lakewood residents who have died while in military service to our nation. At the center of the plaza is a Korean War-era jet fighter in a setting that evokes the flight deck of the Navy aircraft carrier from which this plane once flew.

Mayfair

Mayfair Park has a storied place in Lakewood's history. Once the city's sole park, Mayfair soon became the site of the city's earliest community events. Today, the annual Pan American Fiesta--the only one of its kind in the nation--welcomes thousands of park visitors.

Look for photo murals coming to these locations:

• Northeast corner of Clark Avenue and Hardwick Street (in front of City Hall)
• Northwest corner of Lakewood Boulevard and Candlewood Street (near Lakewood Center)
• Southwest corner of Pioneer Boulevard and Centralia Street

The design of each mural includes a unique QR code that links to a page on the city’s website. The page captions the photos in that mural and provides historical notes about the surrounding neighborhood.