Pershing Square

100 Plus Years of Public Space

Description

Back in the days when Los Angeles was just a dusty little village on the California frontier in the 1850s, the nearly 5 acre parcel of land that is now Pershing Square used to be a resting ground for settlers. Later in 1886, the settlers unanimously agreed to make Pershing Square into a public space to be enjoyed by the citizens of the growing country. Over the early years of the park, it underwent many name changes including St. Vincent's Park, Los Angeles Park, and Central Park. The park was filled with monuments and was landscaped with cypress trees and tropical plants culminating with a three-tier fountain in the middle of the park. As time went on, the park became heavily deteriorated around the time of the 1960 Democratic Convention (John F. Kennedy stayed adjacent to the park at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel) and by the time the 1984 Summer Olympics arrived to the west coast city, Pershing Square urgently needed updating. A 14.5 million dollar renovation project was invested and Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta and landscape architect Laurie Olin implemented their modernized look for the park, which reopened in 1994. Some of the features of the one city-block park include a massive 10 story purple campanile and fountain and reflecting pool.