The City Council Wednesday approved the designation of a stretch of Spring Street in downtown L.A. as “Biddy Mason Legacy Corridor,” in honor of a former slave who became a prominent Southland resident and landowner in the 1850s.
In a 10-0 vote, the council approved a motion introduced by Councilman Kevin de León, who sought to erect ceremonial signs along Spring Street from East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue to 9th Street to celebrate the legacy of Bridget “Biddy” Mason. The signs will be erected at some future date.
Council members Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Imelda Padilla, Curren Price, Nithya Raman and Katy Yaroslavsky were absent during the vote.
In addition to the street renaming, de León has announced his intent to rename Pershing Square, L.A.’s oldest city park, after Mason.
While the council authorized the street renaming Wednesday, the park’s renaming is still being considered by the council’s Transportation Committee, and the Neighborhoods and Community Enrichment Committee.
“It is incumbent that the city of Los Angeles ensure that Biddy Mason’s legacy is celebrated and remembered by all who traverse this central artery of our city, particularly since her resilience, generosity, and entrepreneurial spirit helped shape the foundations of Los Angeles,” according to de León’s motion regarding the street renaming.
Mason, born into slavery in Georgia in 1818, became a prominent nurse and co-founded the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in the city.
Pershing Square was originally dedicated in 1866 by then-Mayor Cristóbal Aguilar as La Plaza Abaja, then later dedicated in honor of World War I Gen. John J. Pershing in 1918.
According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, Mason bought a nearly 1-acre site in 1866, between what is now Broadway and Spring Street and Third and Fourth streets, the site of a mini-park named Biddy Mason Memorial Park.
There is a memorial plaque at the mini-park, though de León has described it as “hidden next to a parking lot.”