Gram Worthy Picks
A prompt to encourage your practice of creativity this week from Riversider and local author Larry Burns.
A monument on Main Street now stamps the letters “L-O-V-E” seventeen feet in the air in Downtown Riverside, a destination for padlocks left to symbolize the commitments of love.
Lock in Your Love is a Leadership Riverside Class of 2022 project inspired by “love lock” destinations popular in South Korea that symbolize an unbreakable bond between couples, love for friends and family, and hope for those who need it.
Riversiders celebrated the installation of the new Lock in Your Love monument on Main St. The monument is an interactive sculpture built to hold thousands of padlocks and creates an Instagram-worthy photo destination and a special Riverside connection for Koreans visiting the Dosan Ahn Chang-Ho Memorial just across University Avenue.
Inspired by love lock destinations popular in South Korea to symbolize an unbreakable bond between couples, love for friends and family, and hope for those who need it, the project was coordinated and paid for by volunteer efforts from the Leadership Riverside Class of 2022.
“We wanted to find a way to bring people together and help breathe new life into Downtown Riverside and the businesses there,” said Kyla Brown, Director of Parks for Riverside County and leader of the volunteer team, “The love lock sculpture is the perfect way to draw people together in their shared love for Riverside. Our hope is that residents and visitors will feel inspired, hopeful, and more connected to this beautiful city.”
Lock in Your Love was designed and fabricated by the local artisans of Alderette Designs, creators of the popular Citrus Swing project on Market Street. “I’m proud that there is 17 feet of love standing high in Riverside, and even prouder that our team put it there.”
The monument is made of COR-TEN steel, also known as weathering steel, a metal alloy developed to eliminate the need for painting. Over time, the monument will form a rust-like patina. “COR-TEN is made to stand strong and looks better over the tests of time, just like love!” said Alderette with a cheesy grin.
Monument Sponsors
Pedestal Sponsors
Lock Sponsors
Link Sponsors
Pacific Lock Company is a lock manufacturer based in California that designed and donated custom heart-shaped padlocks for the monument’s launch.
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