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UPDATE:  The South Park Flea Market has moved to 11th and Figueroa.  New hours are from 11:00am-4:00pm Sundays.

Beginning Sunday January 20, 2008, the brand-new South Park Flea Market will transform a parking lot at 8th and Grand into a weekly open-air bazaar.

Phillip Dane, the organizer behind the Fairfax Flea Market (also known as the Melrose Trading Post), has organized the Downtown venture. Assuming the South Park market finds the success of its more established Fairfax counterpart, the flea market will be a draw not only from the local community but from Eastside, Central and South LA neighborhoods as well.

Over 200 vendors will sell everything from old records to furniture, clothing, crafts, hand-made soaps, food, jewelry and just about anything else you can imagine.

This is an event that will become a place to hang out, meet your neighbors or grab a bite to eat while weekend dining options are still lacking.

In contrast to some parts of Downtown that are devoid of pedestrians on weekends, the 7th Street corridor is constantly abuzz with shoppers, tourists and residents. Just south of 7th, however, that pedestrian energy ends amid a sea of surface parking lots. A weekend flea market will bring new life to an underutilized block and turn it into an asset for the community.

Like the huge redevelopment projects we tend to favor, this type of organic growth also brings revitalization to our neighborhoods and will make Downtown Los Angeles a more livable place.

Ironically, however, the market’s website and flyers only list parking options for attendees, completely overlooking its proximity to the 7th/Metro subway station. We highly suggest they do more to encourage public transportation, biking and walking to the event.

Also, as much as we welcome the new South Park Flea Market, let’s hope it doesn’t get too comfortable at this location. Astani Enterprises is currently working on final renderings for the massive 8th and Grand project on this very site. If they meet their project groundbreaking goal for late 2008, there are countless other surface lots in the area the flea market can call home.

South Park Flea Market
Sundays starting January 20, 2008
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
$2 entrance fee
Pet-friendly (leashes required)
southparkfleamarket.com

More photos of the Melrose Trading Post on Fairfax here.