Editing MacArthur Park

{{Short description|Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument}}
{{For|the song|MacArthur Park (song)}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox park
| name = MacArthur Park
| photo = Macarthur_Park.jpg
| photo_width = 250
| photo_caption = Looking towards [[Downtown Los Angeles]], August 2001
| map = Los Angeles#California#USA
| map_label =MacArthur Park
| relief =1
| type = [[Urban park]]
| location = [[Westlake, Los Angeles]]
| coords = {{Coord|34|03|31|N|118|16|39|W|display=inline,title|region:US_type:landmark|name=MacArthurPark}}
| embedded = {{Designation list|embed=yes|designation1=Los Angeles|designation1_number=100|designation1_date=May 1, 1972}}
| area = {{cvt|35|acre}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://la.curbed.com/2018/1/19/16888078/macarthur-park-westlake-history-photos|title=MacArthur Park’s glory days|first=Hadley|last=Meares|date=January 19, 2018|website=Curbed LA}}</ref>
| created = 1880s
| operator = [http://www.laparks.org City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks]
| visitation_num = 
| status = Open all year
| publictransit = {{LACMTA link logo}} [[Westlake/MacArthur Park station]]
}}

'''MacArthur Park''' (originally '''Westlake Park''')<ref>{{cite news|title=It's General MacArthur Not Westlake Park From Now On|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 9, 1942|page=1}}</ref> is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the [[Westlake, Los Angeles|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.<ref name=hcm>{{cite web|url = http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/HCM/dsp_hcm_result.cfm?community=Westlake|title = HISTORIC-CULTURAL MONUMENT (HCM) REPORT|access-date = April 5, 2007|date = November 10, 2004|publisher = Los Angeles Department of City Planning|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110817085435/http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/HCM/dsp_hcm_result.cfm?community=Westlake|archive-date = 2011-08-17|url-status = dead}}</ref>

The lake in MacArthur Park is fed by [[Spring (hydrosphere)|natural springs]] (although an artificial bottom to the lake was laid during the construction of the [[B Line (Los Angeles 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 (LACMTA Station)|Westlake/MacArthur Park]] B and D Line station is across the street.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/red_line.htm |title=Metro Red Line |access-date=March 26, 2007 |publisher=[[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319224056/http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/red_line.htm |archive-date=March 19, 2007 }}</ref>

== Description ==
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).

Public artworks installed in the park have included the [[MacArthur Monument (Los Angeles)|MacArthur Monument]], ''Entry Arch'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Entry Arch, (sculpture). |url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!319041~!0#focus |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref> ''[[Statue of Harrison Gray Otis|General Harrison Gray Otis]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Harrison Gray Otis, (sculpture). |url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!942~!0#focus |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref> the Hungarian Freedom Fighters Memorial,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hungarian Freedom Fighters Memorial, (sculpture). |url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!319036~!0#focus |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref> ''MacArthur Park Singularity'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=MacArthur Park Singularity, (sculpture). |url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!318931~!0#focus |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref> ''Mine Was the Better Punch, But It Didn't Win the Wristwatch'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mine Was the Better Punch, But It Didn't Win the Wristwatch, (sculpture). |url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!337149~!0#focus |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref> and ''[[Prometheus Bringing Fire to Earth]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prometheus, Bringing Fire to the Earth, (sculpture). |url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!937~!0#focus |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref> Previously, the [[statue of Charles III of Spain]] was installed in the park.

== History ==
[[File:A winter's day in West Lake Park, Los Angeles, Calif (clloy 172).jpg|thumb|Postcard view from the 1900s]]
[[File:Beautiful Westlake Park, Los Angeles, California (60143).jpg|thumb|Postcard, circa 1930 to 1945]]

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 (Los Angeles)|Lincoln Park]]. Both Westlake and Eastlake (as well as Echo Park) were built as drinking water reservoirs connected to the city's system, [[Zanja Madre]]. 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth|author= Blake Glumprecht|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|date=1969}}</ref>

The park was named for [[Henricus Wallace Westlake]], a Canadian physician who had moved to Los Angeles around 1888, settled in the area and donated a portion of his property to the city for a park.<ref>{{cite news|id={{ProQuest|164362866}}|title=Dr. Westlake Is No More|work=Los Angeles Times|page=II-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042462/1905-05-14/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1836&index=0&date2=1922&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn85042460&lccn=sn84038806&lccn=sn84025968&lccn=sn85042462&words=died+Westlake&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=westlake+died&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|title=Death Ends Career of Able Physician|work=Los Angeles Herald|date=May 14, 1905}}</ref>

In the mid-19th century the area was a swampland; by the 1890s, it was a vacation destination, surrounded by luxury hotels. In the early part of the 20th century, the [[Westlake, Los Angeles|Westlake neighborhood]] became known as the [[Champs-Élysées]] of Los Angeles.

[[File:MacArthur Park soccer fields from west 2015-10-18.jpg|thumb|North half of park in 2015]]
Wilshire Boulevard formerly ended at the lake, but in 1934 a berm was built for it to cross and link up with the existing Orange Street (which ran from Alvarado to [[Figueroa Street]]s) into downtown Los Angeles. Orange Street was renamed Wilshire and extended east of Figueroa Street to Grand Avenue.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hernández |first=Caitlin |date=2024-08-05 |title=It's likely being rejoined — but why was LA’s MacArthur Park split apart in the first place? |url=https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/los-angeles-macarthur-park-lake-reconnect-wilshire |access-date=2024-08-05 |work=LAist |language=en}}</ref> This divided the lake into two halves; the northern one was subsequently drained. From the 1940s, the lake featured the rental of electric boats, with the names of comic book animal characters.

According to a ''Los Angeles Times'' news story from 1956, two swans, named Rudie and Susie, hatched their five new [[cygnet (bird)|cygnet]]s on the island in MacArthur Park Lake, and according to the park superintendent, these were the first swans born in the park in over a decade.<ref>{{cite news|title=MacArthur Park Swans Welcome Two Cygnets|work=Los Angeles Times|date=April 26, 1958|page= 3}}</ref>

For many years, Filipino World War II veterans protested in the park named after their former commander regarding promises made when they enlisted that the United States had reneged on.<ref>[https://articleslatimes.com/1997-06-17/local/me-4088_1_filipino-veterans] {{dead link|date=May 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> In 2009 as part of the [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|stimulus package]], Congress awarded lump-sum payments of $15,000 to Filipino veterans who are American citizens and $9,000 to those who are noncitizens.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/us/politics/177vets.html|title=Filipino Veterans Benefit in Stimulus Bill|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

MacArthur Park became known for violence after 1985 when prostitution, drug dealing, shoot-outs, and the occasional rumored drowning became commonplace, with as many as 30 murders in 1990.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mediamatic.net/en/page/8923/beyond-blade-runner-urban-control-1|title=Beyond Blade Runner: Urban Control (1)|website=Mediamatic.net|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> When the lake was drained in 1973 and 1978, hundreds of handguns and other firearms were found disposed of in the lake.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-17-me-15035-story.html |title=Art history : MacArthur Park Lake's muddy bottom yields raw materials for free-form sculptures that are also time capsules. |date=17 December 1995 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

=== May Day Mêlée with the Los Angeles Police Department ===
{{Main|2007 MacArthur Park rallies}}
Two May Day rallies calling for U.S. citizenship for [[illegal immigration|undocumented immigrants]] were held at MacArthur Park on May 1, 2007.<ref name="la times">{{cite news
|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-may-02-me-march2-story.html
|title=Small turnout, big questions|access-date =May 6, 2007|date = May 2, 2007|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | first1=Teresa | last1=Watanabe | first2=Francisco | last2=Vara-Orta}}</ref><ref name=villaroman>{{cite web|url=http://www.asianjournal.com/?c=124&a=20366 |title=3,000 at MacArthur Park for Peaceful March |date=May 22, 2007 |first=Rene |last=Villaroman |publisher=Asian Journal Online |access-date=23 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213174628/http://www.asianjournal.com/?c=124&a=20366 |archive-date=December 13, 2007 |df=mdy }}</ref> When the protest overflowed onto city streets, police drove motorcycles through the crowd, then ordered the crowd to disperse. Some people began throwing plastic bottles and rocks at officers. Members of the [[Los Angeles Police Department]] then used batons and rubber bullets in a manner later found by the LAPD's own investigation, as well as by the courts, to be excessive. After community mobilization, pressure from the Mayor, and an extensive internal review, LAPD Chief [[William Bratton]] apologized, the commanding officer was demoted, seventeen other officers faced penalties, and the LAPD paid more than $13 million in damages.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-feb-05-me-lapd-settlement5-story.html|title=Los Angeles to pay $13 million to settle May Day melee lawsuits|date=February 5, 2009|author=Maeve Reston|author2=Joel Rubin|name-list-style=amp|work=Los Angeles Times| access-date= 21 January 2010 <!--DASHBot-->}}</ref>

=== Redevelopment ===
[[File:MacArthur Park Levitt Pavilion from southwest 2015-10-18.jpg|thumb|Levitt Pavilion bandshell]]
Beginning in 2002, the [[Los Angeles Police Department]] and business and community leaders led a redevelopment effort that has led to the installation of surveillance cameras, the opening of a recreation center, increased business, early-morning drink vendors, [[Westlake/MacArthur Park station|a new Metro station]], the return of the paddle boats and the fountain, and large community festivals attracting thousands. Along with determined campaigns to improve community relations between the neighborhood and the police, crime rates went down through the mid-2000s.<ref>Some associated the installation of cameras with reductions in crime in the park, but others, such as reporter John Buntin, have highlighted improvements in community relations by police officers themselves: 
{{cite web|title=The LAPD Remade: How William Bratton's Police Force Drove Crime Down—And Won Over Los Angeles's Minorities|location=Los Angeles|work=City Journal|date=23 December 2015|issue=Winter 2013|url=https://www.city-journal.org/html/lapd-remade-13526.html|quote="The percentage of residents saying that the police in their communities treated members of all racial and ethnic groups fairly 'almost all the time' or 'most of the time' rose from 44 percent in 2005 to 51 percent in 2009."}}
For further analysis of the effect of surveillance cameras on crime in LA overall, with many references to MacArthur Park, see Aundreia Cameron et al., [https://www.srevilak.net/wiki/images/0/01/Measuring-effects-of-video-surveillance-on-crime-in-los-angeles.pdf ''Measuring the Effects of Video Surveillance on Crime in Los Angeles''] (Univ. of Southern CA: School of Policy, Planning, and Development, 5 May 2008)</ref>

In 2007, Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles opened, offering 50 free concerts each summer and attracting a wide range of audiences from around the country and globally. Currently programmed & produced (as of 2017) by local resident Matthew Himes, notable acts that have performed include [[Celso Pina]], [[Fishbone]], [[Bomba Estereo]], [[La Sonora Dinamita]], [[Jimmy Webb]], [[Kinky (band)|Kinky]], [[La Resistencia (film)|La Resistencia]], [[Nortec Collective]] and many more. In the same year, the paddle boats returned.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://la.curbed.com/2007/11/29/10583192/weary-paddle-bo|title=Weary Paddle Boats Are Returning To Echo Park Lake|first=Dakota|last=Smith|date=29 November 2007|website=La.curbed|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> They were available for rent on the weekends in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://susanacker.blogspot.com/2009/03/pedaling-around-macarthur-park.html|title=In and Around Los Angeles: Pedaling around MacArthur Park|first=Susan|last=Acker|website=Susanacker.blogspot.com|date=22 March 2009|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theeastsiderla.com/archives/this-will-be-your-last-weekend-to-ride-the-echo-park-lake-pedal-boats/article_f56ce50e-73d3-5165-9752-9270177e92c8.html|title=This will be your last weekend to ride the Echo Park Lake pedal boats|website=Theeastsiderla.com|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> By early 2010, the boathouse was closed. Eventually, the paddle boats were removed. The boathouse was demolished in 2014.

The MacArthur Park bandshell was painted by local artists and graffiti artists under the direction of Otis Parsons. Some of the artists involved were: Robert Williams, Skill, John "Zender" Estrada, Hector "Hex" Rios, Geo, Exit, Trip, Hate Prime, Relic, [[Galo "MAKE" Canote]], RickOne and others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.publicartinla.com/sculptures/MacArthur_Park/underpass_murals.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823191743/http://www.publicartinla.com/sculptures/MacArthur_Park/underpass_murals.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 23, 2007|title=Robert Williams, Skill, John Zender Estrada, Hector "Hex" Rios, Geo, Exit, Trip, Hate, Prime, and others, Underpass murals, MacArthur Park, Los Angeles|website=Publicartinla.com|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.publicartinla.com/sculptures/MacArthur_Park/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060116030646/http://www.publicartinla.com/sculptures/MacArthur_Park/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=January 16, 2006|title=Sculptural and Mural Works in MacArthur Park and in Lafayette Park, Los Angeles|website=Publicartinla.com|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> Some of the artwork was featured in the book ''[[Spraycan Art]]'' by [[Henry Chalfant]] and Jim Prigoff.

The lakeside portion of the park closed for 10 weeks in October 2021.<ref>{{cite news|title=This part of MacArthur Park is closing to the homeless — and everybody else — for 10 weeks|url=https://www.dailynews.com/2021/10/15/this-part-of-macarthur-park-is-closing-to-the-homeless-and-everybody-else-for-10-weeks/|date=October 15, 2021|access-date=October 17, 2021|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Daily News]]}}</ref>

=== Crime ===

The area surrounding MacArthur Park, one of the poorest areas of Los Angeles, has widely reported crime rates. Considered to be [[MS-13]] territory, many poorer locals of the area, especially those doing illicit business in the park, are forced to pay a "tax" to the gang in exchange for being left alone. In 2021, multiple attacks on transgender sex workers in the park had led to increased police presence and were widely reported.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-08-26/ms-13-gang-targets-transgender-women-macarthur-park|title=Attacks on transgender women expose MS-13 gang's grip on MacArthur Park|date=26 August 2021|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
MacArthur Park has been used as a filming location numerous times. In ''[[Hard Luck (1921 film)|Hard Luck]]'' (1921), [[Buster Keaton]] eludes the police by posing with a statue in the park. In ''[[A Woman of Paris]]'' (1923), [[Charlie Chaplin]] uses the north side of the park and the Ansonia in two scenes. MacArthur Park/Westlake Park and its boats figure prominently as the scene of a murder in the 1949 film noir ''[[Too Late for Tears]]'' (also known as ''Killer Bait'') with Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea, and Arthur Kennedy. In the 2011 film ''[[Drive (2011 film)|Drive]]'', [[Ryan Gosling|Ryan Gossling]] and [[Carey Mulligan]] live at the ''[[Park Plaza Hotel (Los Angeles)|The MacArthur]]'' on S. Park View Street, across from the MacArthur Park. A scene takes place in the park involving Gossling, [[Christina Hendricks]], and [[Oscar Isaac]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-09-21 |title='Drive' locations: Refn's film shows grittier sides of L.A. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/24-frames/story/2011-09-21/drive-locations-refns-film-shows-grittier-sides-of-l-a |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1973, an episode of the TV horror anthology series ''Circle of Fear'', "The Phantom of Herald Square", included a significant number of scenes filmed within the park, as well as the ''[[Dragnet (1967 TV series)|Dragnet]]'' episode "The Bank  Examiner Swindle", ''[[Spider-Man (1977 film)|Spider-Man]]'' (1977), and "72 Hours", an episode of ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]]'', wherein Carlton plans to conduct illegal sales of counterfeit merchandise in the park, hoping to prove his street cred to Will and his friends.

It is featured in the [[Gym Class Heroes]] music video for the "As Cruel as School Children" version of "[[Cupid's Chokehold]]"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=2021-04-01 |title=Gym Class Heroes' Travie McCoy on Surprise TikTok Resurgence: 'It's F—ing Awesome' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/cupids-chokehold-tiktok-gym-class-heroes-interview-1150071/ |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Jeremy |date=2018-11-07 |title=Can you spot the pre-fame celebrities in these music videos? - BBC Music |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/18b8fbb5-2a0c-4d89-815d-0563e9b58b3e |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref> and [[Lorde]]'s 2017 music video for "[[Green Light (Lorde song)|Green Light]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/news/72018-grant-singer-talks-directing-lordes-green-light-video-shooting-on-16mm-film-and-the-power-of-familiarity/ |title=Lorde's "Green Light" Director Grant Singer Reveals Story Behind the Video |last2=Pearce |first2=Sheldon |date=3 March 2017 |website=Pitchfork |last1=Hogan |first1=Marc |access-date=5 March 2017}}</ref>

The movie ''In MacArthur Park'' (1976) was written and directed by Bruce Schwartz.

The 1968 hit song "[[MacArthur Park (song)|MacArthur Park]]", written by [[Jimmy Webb]] and originally recorded by [[Richard Harris]] (later famously covered by [[Donna Summer]]), was inspired by this location.

In an episode of ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'', the park is humorously suggested as a place to visit by a hotel concierge.

==See also==
{{Portal|Greater Los Angeles}}
*[[List of parks in Los Angeles]]
*[[List of places named for Douglas MacArthur]]
*[[MacArthur Park (song)]]
*[[Statue of Óscar Romero]]

== References ==
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{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|wikt=no|commonscat=yes|b=no|n=no|q=no|s=no|v=no|voy=no|d=Q3080246}}
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;Government
*{{official website|http://www.laparks.org/park/macarthur}}
;General information
*[https://levittlosangeles.org/ Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles (MacArthur Park)]

{{Parks in Los Angeles}}
{{Northwest Los Angeles}}
{{LAHMC}}
{{Douglas MacArthur}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macarthur Park (Los Angeles)}}
[[Category:Parks in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials to Douglas MacArthur|Park (Los Angeles)]]
[[Category:Westlake, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Wilshire Boulevard]]
[[Category:1880s establishments in California]]
[[Category:Parks established in the 1880s]]