The Bowtie - Rio de Los Angeles State Park

The Bowtie looking north. A paved road with industrial buildings in the background and the San Gabriel Mountains in the far distance.

About the Bowtie

Trees and vegetation in the Los Angeles River.
The Bowtie looking north with power lines overhead and the Los Angeles River on the left.
The Los Angeles River at the Bowtie with concrete embankments and vegetation in the riverbed.

Officially a part of Rio de Los Angeles State Park, the Bowtie parcel is an 18 acre strip of land located on the east bank of the Los Angeles River in north east Los Angeles. Historically, this property was part of Taylor Yard, the former headquarters of Southern Pacific Railroad. Once a bustling railyard and major local employer, Southern Pacific closed the facilities in the late 1980’s and began parceling the land for future sale. After rail operations shut down, advocates, including nonprofit organizations, community groups, and government agencies, all worked to ensure the land found its way into public hands with a vision to revitalize 100 acres of the area into publicly owned park space. This collective vision is managed by the 100 Acre Partnership.

In 2003, California State Parks bought the property called G-1, which is now referred to as “the Bowtie” (due to its shape), with the intent of transforming the currently undeveloped industrial land into a safe and clean, vibrant public green space focused on nature conservation and restoration, education, and providing opportunities for passive recreation.

Upcoming Events

El 2 de marzo de 2022 a las 6 pm se llevará a cabo una presentación pública en español sobre el Proyecto de Demostración de The Nature Conservancy. Consulte el folleto adjunto para obtener más información.

Proyecto de Demostración de Bowtie: Reunión pública y virtual en español - marzo 2, 2022 a las 6 pm.

Presentación en español - The Nature Conservancy

DTSC Work Notice about the soil sampling at the Bowtie. On-site work will occur on March 9th and 10th, 2022.

Aviso de trabajo del DTSC sobre el muestreo de suel en Bowtie. El trabajo en el sitio ocurrirá el 9 y 10 de marzo de 2022.

for more information on DTSC work notice, you may contact Sarai Jimenez,  TNC Outreach Coordinator/ Coordinadora del enlace comunitario, sarai.jimenez@tnc.org

Join us Saturday, March 5th from 10 am to 12pm at Sotomayor Learning Academies for a public presentation of the Conceptual Design for the Bowtie. 

Planning - What’s Next

2021 was a pivotal year for the Bowtie. State Parks and the Bowtie design team held a community listening process throughout 2021 to hear from future park users about their wants, needs, and questions for the future state park. We received input from nearly 2000 community members, which has informed and guided the concept design as a first draft of the park plan was developed.  

In October 2021, an in-person open house was held at Rio de Los Angeles State Park, where a draft  plan for the Bowtie was shared with community members. We are excited for our upcoming Public Presentation of the Bowtie Concept Design at Sotomayor Learning Academies on March 5, 2022. This presentation will highlight what we learned from our community listening and engagement efforts and how that shaped the Bowtie Concept Design.   

2022 will be another important year for the Bowtie, as the Demonstration Project continues to develop and the Paseo del Río kicks off. So please check back on this page for upcoming opportunities to provide your input on the future of the Bowtie.

Get Involved

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Please check back on this page for upcoming opportunities to provide feedback and input on the future of the Bowtie. Outreach and engagement will include community surveys, online meetings, and activations at the future park site. 

Thanks to everyone who completed our Bowtie community survey! We’ve compiled your feedback, please review the Bowtie community summary results at this link. 

There is still time to leave feedback in our current Questionaire. What is your vision of the Bowtie? Share with us here:
      English  |  Spanish

The Bowtie and the 100 Acre Partnership

The Bowtie is part of the 100 Acre Partnership, an agreement between City and State agencies to collaborate on revitalizing 100 acres of the former Taylor Yard railyard into a contiguous public green space along the LA River. The 100 acres is comprised of:

  • Rio de Los Angeles State Park: A 40-acre State Park that opened in 2007 and co-managed by the City of Los Angeles and California State Parks
  • The Bowtie (G-1): 18-acre parcel owned by California State Parks
  • G2: A 42-acre property, with 12 acres owned by MRCA and 30 acres owned by the City of Los Angeles.
  • Paseo Del Rio: 100 Acre Partnership collaborative project which will provide for approximately one-mile of walking trail and greenway that will run along the river and across both the Bowtie and G-2 parcels.

100 acre overview map of the Bowtie areaMap of the Bowtie area and its part of a larger vision to create 100 acres of contiguous green space along the LA River.

Projects at the Bowtie

Remnants of a Taylor Yard railroad turntable pit with brightly painted walls
View of Los Angeles River showing water flowing and vegetation in the riverbed
Remnants of a Taylor Yard railroad turntable pit with brightly painted walls
View of Los Angeles River looking south; powerlines overhead, concrete river embankments, and vegetation in the riverbed
The Bowtie looking north with overhead powerlines.

There are three planning efforts getting underway at the Bowtie. The respective project teams are working collaboratively to ensure a cohesive design across the site and coordinated community engagement efforts. The projects are:

The Bowtie 18 Acre Conceptual Design Project: This project will provide for a comprehensive overall conceptual design for the full 18 acres of the park. The vision will include natural habitat and passive recreation opportunities.
Project Team includes California State Parks, RADAR, Salt Landscape, and Clockshop.
Link to the 18 Acre Project Brochure [English | Spanish | Tagalog]

The Demonstration Project: The Nature Conservancy is leading a stormwater diversion and habitat restoration project on the Bowtie called The Demonstration Project. The project aims to create vital habitat and demonstrate how storm water quality can be improved by natural systems.
Project Team Includes California State Parks, The Nature Conservancy, and BlueGreen Consulting.
Link to the Demonstration Project Brochure [English | Spanish]  

Paseo del Rio: This project will create a walking trail and greenway along the river’s edge spanning both the Bowtie and G-2 parcels. This project is a collaborative effort by the 100 Acre Partnership.
Project Team includes California State Parks in collaboration with the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering (BOE) and Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority (MCRA).
Link to Paseo del Rio Project Brochure [English | Spanish] 

 

The Bowtie looking south. A small, paved road with railroad tracks on the left and the Los Angeles River on the right.

Access to the Bowtie

Currently the Bowtie is not formally open to the public as it is still an undeveloped industrial site with no developed facilities or amenities.