Lime Street Park in Hesperia has a new attraction where visitors can scan a code and hear a poet read their own words aloud. The Hesperia Recreation and Park District held a grand-opening ribbon-cutting ceremony for the park's new Art Walk on Monday morning at 9 a.m., marking a milestone in the park's ongoing transformation.
The Art Walk pairs visual artwork with original poems about the High Desert, and according to VVNG, the visual pieces were actually created around the poems themselves, following a district statement on the project's design. Some installations along the walk feature those original verses, while QR codes posted at the art displays give visitors background on the participating artists.
Scan a Code, Hear a Poem
The poetry installations take the interactive concept a step further. QR codes placed at those spots let visitors listen to the poets themselves reading their work, turning a stroll through the park into something closer to an audio tour of local voices and local landscape. The district says the artwork on display will change twice a year, so the walk is designed to look different to returning visitors throughout the year.
The Hesperia Recreation and Park District said the Art Walk's opening completed the third phase of Lime Street Park's six-phase revitalization project, with phase three now finished and the broader overhaul continuing to progress. The district thanked the partners, community members and teams who helped complete the phase, along with everyone who turned out for the ceremony, and it invited the public to stroll through Lime Street Park to experience the new installations firsthand.
Funded by a Statewide Grant
The Art Walk was funded through California Proposition 68 grant money awarded to the park district. That funding ties back to a larger pot: the district previously received a $4,424,842 grant for Lime Street Park renovations through the Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Program, according to Townsend Public Affairs. A project description on file with parksforcalifornia.org lists a wide scope of planned work at the park, including four renovated baseball and softball fields with lighting, a pickleball court, a splash pad, a walking path with exercise equipment, an open plaza, public art, parking lots and landscaping throughout the grounds.
The grant-funded improvements are meant to enhance Lime Street Park as a space for fitness, art and family activities, per the district's own description of the project. New outdoor gym equipment has arrived at the park.
Part of a Larger Overhaul
Lime Street Park has been a target of state and local investment for years. Back in 2021, the district received a separate grant of just over $272,000, funded through a California Department of Justice Tobacco Grant, intended to pay for an additional full-time park ranger position over a two-year period, according to the Victorville Daily Press. With three of six phases now complete, the park's transformation from ballfields to a fuller recreation and arts destination continues to take shape piece by piece.
