"Zebras and Beatles” part of our future?

More than 40 years ago, a Beatles' album cover ignited mystery and intrigue in its depiction of the Fab Four walking in full stride across a "zebra" crosswalk. The iconic photograph showed John, Paul, George and Ringo walking single file in the crosswalk, with its alternating black and white stripes.

Window to the future

In Beaumont, a well-traveled zebra crosswalk between the Civic Center and the Police Department represents the gateway to a new chapter in the city’s life. You will find it on Orange Avenue, between Sixth and Seventh streets. Orange Avenue has been blocked off under a plan to build a Civic Center Campus where all municipal facilities will remain in the heart of downtown. Pedestrians can now stroll peacefully across the city’s striped crossing and dream about what lies ahead: a more vibrant downtown, a more convenient City Hall and more public parking.

In the coming years, Beaumont’s dream of having all city facilities in one central location—Civic Center, fire department and police department — will become a reality. The block of Orange Avenue will remain permanently closed and will become a public promenade area with landscaped planters and illuminated at night with attractive, energy-efficient lighting. City employees and visitors alike will stroll back and forth beneath covered walkways in a peaceful, inviting atmosphere as they travel between buildings conducting business that might include anything from licensing a dog to updating a passport.

Civic Center Campus

The new Civic Center Campus is starting to take shape. Work has begun to turn the old Summit Elementary School site into a home for the Beaumont Police Department, Animal Care, Code Enforcement, Public Works and Engineering and the city’s computer department. There will be more public parking, as well as an improved, secured parking area for police cars and other city vehicles.

Can you hear it?

So if you’re strolling across that zebra crossing in Beaumont and hear the echo of hits from the Abbey Road album like “Come Together” and “Here Comes The Sun,” close your eyes for just a moment and it will be 1969 all over again! Or maybe it’s the soundtrack of our future, as Beaumont moves closer to a new Civic Center Campus where we can all come together and appreciate the sunny days ahead.