MacArthur Park
| MacArthur Park | |
|---|---|
MacArthur Park looking towards Downtown Los Angeles
|
|
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Westlake, Los Angeles |
| Coordinates | 34°03′31″N 118°16′39″W / 34.05861°N 118.27750°WCoordinates: 34°03′31″N 118°16′39″W / 34.05861°N 118.27750°W |
| Created | 1880s |
| Operated by | City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks |
| Status | Open all year |
| Public transit access | Westlake/MacArthur Park Station |
| Designated | May 1, 1972 |
| Reference no. | 100 |
MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late nineteenth century in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and later designated City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #100.
The park is divided in two by Wilshire Boulevard. The southern portion primarily consists of a lake, while the northern half includes an amphitheatre, bandshell, soccer fields, and children's playground, along with a recreation center operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. The bandshell was once home to many organizations and events, such as Jugaremos en Familia (a live event hosted by Memo Flores for the Hispanic community). MacArthur Park's bandshell has been recently renovated as the Levitt Pavilion and is once again the host of jazz, big band, salsa music, beat music, and world music concerts. Since reopening, it hosts at least 50 free concerts each summer between June and September.
The lake in MacArthur Park is fed by natural springs (although an artificial bottom to the lake was laid during the construction of the Metro Red Line, opened in 1993). In the past, a fountain with a reflecting pool on the northern end was also fed by the springs. The Westlake/MacArthur Park Red Line station sits across the street.
MacArthur Park along 7th Street
Boathouse in 2011, closed
MacArthur Park
Lake in MacArthur Park
Historic Cultural Monument plaque
Memorial to General MacArthur
The park, originally named Westlake Park, was built in the 1880s, along with a similar Eastlake Park, whose lake is artificial, in Los Angeles. Westlake Park was renamed May 7, 1942; Eastlake Park was renamed Lincoln Park. Both Westlake and Eastlake (as well as Echo Park) were built as drinking water reservoirs connected to the city's systems of zanjas (small conveyance channels or trenches). When the city abandoned the non-pressurized zanja system for a pressurized pipe system, these smaller, shallow reservoirs located at low points no longer provided much benefit and were converted into parks.
...
Wikipedia