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Who' s park: an architectural history of Westlake-MacArthur Park

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Who' s park: an architectural history of Westlake-MacArthur Park

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WHO’S PARK: AN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY OF
WESTLAKE-MACARTHUR PARK

by

James Strawn

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION

May 2008

Copyright 2008 James Strawn
ii
Dedication

This Thesis Project is dedicated in loving memory of my late mother, Candace E. Timme,
and to my stepfather, Robert H. Timme, the late Dean of the USC School of Architecture. I
could not have done this and would not be here without their love and support. They will
always be missed.

iii

Table of Contents

Dedication ii
List of Tables iv
Abstract v
Introduction 1
Chapter One: Creation of Westlake Park 4
Chapter Two: Completion & Fashion 23
Chapter Three: A Different Park 54
Chapter Four: Who’s Park? 67
Chapter Five: The Historic Significance and Character of MacArthur Park 83
Bibliography 95
Appendix: Character Defining Features of MacArthur Park 97
iv

List of Tables

Table 1.1, 1850-1900; 2000. New York Population Density 4
Table 1.2, 1886-1934. Westlake Structures – Duration in Place in Park 15
Table 2.1, 1850-1900. General Population by City, Los Angeles County 24
Table 2.2, 1900-1910. Key to Illustration 2.8 30
Table 2.3, 1900-1920. Los Angeles Population Growth 42
Table 4.1, 2006. Current Westlake-Rampart Population 76
Table 5.1, 1886-1995. Westlake Development Periods 90
Table A.1, 2007. Key to MacArthur Park Character Defining Features 97
v

Abstract

Westlake – MacArthur Park has had a rich history, including the development of a Westlake
community and a vital role in the completion of Wilshire Boulevard. The park has
experienced a period of decline similar to that of other public parks, such as Bryant Park in
New York. This project discusses park changes over time and analyzes the historic
significance and character of Westlake – MacArthur Park. Additionally, this project identifies
the period of significance for the park and describes its character defining features.

1
Introduction

This thesis project explores the complex history of the foundation and design of Westlake-
MacArthur Park in order to identify the park’s historically significant features. My research
has indicated that many books and pamphlets written about Westlake after 1950 contain
inaccuracies perpetuated by authors who did not investigate primary sources. Through an
exhaustive search of historic articles from The Los Angeles Times, The Los Angeles
Tribune, The Los Angeles Daily Herald, and others, I have been able to establish a number
of specifics about the park.

One of the key mysteries about Westlake has concerned the mechanism whereby Los
Angeles came into possession of the land that became the park. Research on this matter is
complicated by the fact that up to the later part of the 19
th
century, land around Westlake had
not been developed. For example, the Sanborn Atlas does not even have a sheet for
Westlake until 1894. Particularly during the city’s early years, Los Angeles sometimes
renamed streets via informal convention, and surprisingly frequent changes in lot ownership
occurred. As the primary purpose of maps of the time was to show Los Angeles’ streets, and
the lots which were to become Westlake were “outliers,” documentation is therefore
somewhat irregular. Given the inherent limitations of contemporary manual printing methods,
the researcher must examine historic maps with “a grain of salt” for misleading information or
even errors.

Perhaps in part for these reasons, latter accounts of the park claim that General Patton’s
family gave to Los Angles the land which became Westlake. Other authors provide
variations on this story: that a business partner of the family donated the land. None of these
assertions are at all supported by the historic record. My research has shown that almost
2
certainly one of the original board members of the University of Southern California gave
part of the site to the city.

Both the financing of park construction and the how the name “Westlake” became commonly
accepted for the park have also been somewhat cloudy. I have found that Westlake had a
number of cost overruns and construction delays that made for a far more expensive and
complicated building process than described in secondary sources. One article claimed that
the park was named for a certain “Dr. Henericus Wallace Westlake,” a nearby resident. This
is incorrect.

Of all the issues encountered during preparation of this project, perhaps the greatest initial
uncertainties were who designed the park and how this was done. My research indicates
that Westlake was a designed landscape. But unlike Central Park by Olmsted and Vaux,
Westlake was not the product of a competition with one overall design firm in charge. One
recent (late 1980s) book states that the park was designed by “Albert Hardcastle,” a man
who does not exist in any historic record I have located. Research shows that Westlake was
the achievement of city leadership with civic minded citizens. Park landscape design and
landscaping was done by the city’s chief gardener, an unheralded and colorful character in
his own right.

As an expatriate Californian who grew up in Texas, I am used to seeing historic markers
everywhere, denoting battle sites, dates a city was founded or that Sam Houston issued an
edict. In my youth, I attended one of the oldest high schools in Texas- a fact that was
indicated (and advertised) by markers and monuments throughout the campus. Given the
fascinating history I have uncovered about Westlake Park, it has been very puzzling to find
that even the city of Los Angeles does not know the correct (or exact) date of the park’s
3
opening. Certainly no markers exist in the park which would indicate the importance of the
site to the city.

This lack of knowledge ill befits one of Los Angeles’s most important parks. Besides
Westlake-MacArthur Park’s many years-long role as one of the city’s premier civic
accomplishments, the park is a key component of Los Angeles’ Main Street, Wilshire. In fact,
after the decades of prominence as a place to “see and be seen,” Westlake became one of
the most important elements in the completion of Wilshire, with all the attendant importance
this has for Los Angeles as a city.

When evaluating the five chapters of this project, I suggest that readers keep in mind the
four phases in American park development. These will be shown to have had an impact on
the development of Westlake-MacArthur Park as this unfolds over 106 years. The first phase
in American park development was influenced by the “Parks Movement” (1863-1900). Parks
were envisioned as hygienic refuges, picturesque idealized neighborhoods which offered
escape from the surrounding city. Parks were places where families could visit and entertain
during pleasant weekend afternoons. Lasting from around 1900 to the 1920s, the second
phase of park development in America was the “Reform Park.” Here the idea of a
romanticized country landscape was abandoned in favor of indoor activities such as
assemblies and events in field houses. From 1930-1965, the third phase of American park
development was called “Recreation Facility.” Designers and park managers dispensed with
the attempt to use park to solve social problems and parks were shaped by the demands of--
and needs for-- recreation. Starting from 1975 and continuing today, the final phase of
domestic park development is the “Playground Era.” In this phase, parks are treated
primarily as places for organized children’s games such as basketball and increasingly,
soccer.
4
Chapter One: Creation of Westlake Park

I. The Parks Movement, Frederick Olmsted and Central Park, 1850-1886

Westlake Park, now MacArthur Park, comprises 32.15 acres on both sides of Wilshire
Boulevard, between Seventh and Eighth Streets, bordered on the west by Park View Street
and on the east by Alvarado. The surface area of the lake is 8.5 acres, having been reduced
from the original size by the Wilshire Viaduct in 1934 and later by renovations by Daniel,
Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall, known hereafter as DMJM, in 1973. The success of
Westlake was a factor in later developments such as Eastlake, now Lincoln Park.

For several decades prior to the beginning of the subscription drive to fund Westlake Park
initiated by Mayor Workman in 1886, the east-coast based Parks Movement advocated the
benefits of public parks programs derived from idealized English country landscapes. A
central tenet of the Movement was the concept that beauty, as found in perfected versions of
natural environments in England, was directly related to civic utility and virtue.
1

1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 2000
New York
Population
696,000 1,175,000 1,478,000 1,912,000 2,507,000 3,437,202 8,200,000
Density,
Mi²
2,252 3,803 4,783 6,188 8,113 11,124 26,537
Manhattan
Population
515,547 813,669 942,292 1,206,299 1,515,301 2,050,600 1,537,195
Density,
Mi²
22,454 35,439 41,041 52,539 65,997 89,312 66,951

Table 1.1, 1850-1900; 2000. New York Population Density.
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

The American Parks Movement began on the East Coast in part because of the promise that
designed parks would mitigate societal problems
2
resulting from industrialization and mass
immigration found there. At the start of the movement in 1850, Manhattan was one of the
5
most densely populated urban environments in the United States. Manhattan’s population
expanded dramatically through the decades leading to the 20
th
century largely due to
immigration. By 1890, Manhattan’s density rivaled 2000 levels. Consider the former figure in
light of the modern high rises and greater scale of real estate development generally in
today’s Manhattan. The waste generated by masses of people and animals living in such
close proximity during the 19
th
Century was believed to create contagion-laced “bad air.” A
common perception in cities such as New York was that high-density slums left scant
recreational outlet to residents, except to engage in drunkenness and petty crime.
3
An
accessible park idyll would promote a healthful alternative. Early Parks Movement advocate
Andrew Jackson Downing was quoted as having said in 1848:
You may take my word for it... (Parks) will be better preachers of temperance than
temperance societies, better refiners of the national morals than dancing schools
and better promoters of general good-feeling than any lectures on the philosophy of
happiness.
4

Although about civic improvement, the Parks Movement was catalyst for new political
attitudes. The movement introduced the concept of responsibility both for city residents but
most importantly, for political leaders, to create uplifting urban settings.
5
In New York,
political bosses played an early role championing the great Parks Movement project, Central
Park. In Los Angeles, Westlake was the product of Mayor William Workman in partnership
with the political backing of local figures Judge Stephen C. Hubbell and Dr. Edward A.
Bryant. Judge Hubbell was also one of the founders of the University of Southern California.

Prior to the Parks Movement, public spaces in the United States were situated in squares,
gardens/arboretums and cemeteries. In Central Park, Frederick Olmsted with Calvert Vaux
combined aspects of these landscapes with English picturesque to produce a new typology
for public space reflecting profoundly American values.
6
One reason the Parks Movement
succeeded was the appeal such projects had across the often divisive demands of various
segments of potential constituencies.
7
A further uniting aspect of the Parks Movement was
6
that such designed spaces could be visited by anyone irrespective of strata. According to
Rosenzweig:
Both (Olmsted and Vaux) had advocated government support of culture and the
arts, and they viewed a public park as one public institution among many—schools,
museums, libraries—that could enhance the lives of free citizens. Central Park
would be a democratic institution by virtue of the mixing of classes within its
boundaries.
8

By the end of the 19
th
Century, the widely held understanding that public parks created
democratic community space in urban areas demonstrated the success of this approach by
Parks Movement designers.
9
Equality of open space public experience was touted in Los
Angeles’ campaign to raise funds to build Westlake.
10

In New York, a leading factor in public support for Central Park was the belief that a special
public park would commemorate the city’s arrival.
11
Other growing cities across the US also
appreciated this idea. Thus a movement intended to ameliorate East Coast social issues
became fashionable in cities that were years away from problems related to industrialization
and urban density. To such municipalities, a Central Park (or parks) would announce that a
town was now a city. Los Angeles recognized these values as an expanding city eager to
leave behind a small town image. According to comments made around 1850 by Major
George Allen Hancock:
There are certain indispensible elements of success which must attend the
struggling efforts of all incipient cities, which impart a healthy tone and character to
their growth… These elements consist of… facilities which are secured to the
inhabitants of them for the comfort and undivided enjoyment of the community at
large.
12

A landscape created by the combination of private interest and public leadership to clear a
notoriously rundown part of the city
13
Central Park was a model for the development of
Westlake. Just as with Central Park, the successfully realized reclamation an early urban
brownfields deemed useless for building purposes was the intent of the creators of
7
Westlake. Both projects had to overcome initial public doubts, politicized Parks Commissions
and the demands of often reluctant taxpayers.

Central Park was the product largely of land donations, and it is almost certain that some
private property was donated to Los Angeles to make a space sufficient to create Westlake.
Both parks were constructed in areas that did not yet have substantial development. But an
increase in property values brought about by Parks Movement projects had been widely
anticipated by Central Park advocates, particularly Frederick Olmsted.
14
Increases in real
estate valuation may also have been a factor in the building of Westlake. However it must be
pointed out that some Angelinos were skeptical that a park could be made of the site at all.

Illustration 1.1, circa 1880s. Walking along Central Park reservoir.
(Copyright Rosenzweig, et al.)

The prominence of the Olmsted’s reservoir in Central Park may have influenced the decision
to turn Westlake into a lake, but the lots that made up the park flooded periodically anyway
so the creation of a lake may simply have been a natural choice. Clearly, however, the
success of Central Park’s reservoir could not have been lost on the builders and backers of
Westlake, a park whose central feature was a man-made lake.

8
Although both parks were meant to be enjoyed by all citizens, each experienced periods of
fashion with their respective city’s elite. The greatest difference between Central Park and
Westlake is that Westlake did not have an overall architect such as was the case for Central
Park. Westlake was exclusively the child of city leadership.

Illustration 1.2, circa 1890s. Boating in Westlake reservoir.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

II. Park Foundation, 1886-1890s

In general terms, Los Angeles during the latter decades of the 19
th
Century pursued a policy
of constructing and maintaining parks via a combination of public gifts and municipal funding
(when funds were available). Los Angeles’ first park, Elysian, opened in 1886, is one
example of such a project.
15

Several mysteries have existed concerning Westlake’s beginnings, for example how Los
Angeles came into possession of the land that would be dedicated to the park and what
benefactors might have been involved. Other issues include the financing of park
9
construction, how and who designed the park, and the correct date of the park’s opening and
dedication. During the 1980s even the city was unsure of the park’s Centennial.
16

From about 1850, the area that was to come to be Westlake Park functioned as a
component of the city’s closed drainage system. The network employed catch basins as a
buffer against excessive annual fall and winter rain, and was generally effective for the
needs of the city at the time. Today the Los Angeles River performs a similar function, albeit
through an integrated sewer system that drains into the sea. One of the chief drawbacks to
the 1850s network was the part-time nature of the basins themselves, which meant swamp
marshes after rain and surrealistic alkali landscapes during the often prolonged dry season.
Real estate values near catch basins probably reflected this unattractive reality.

Illustration 1.3, 1871. Los Angeles from above, looking west. Shows typical runoff basin
downtown (circled).
(Courtesy Historic Map Works.com)

10
The site that became the park was a depression to the west of downtown. During the long
drought of 1863-6, the basin came to be known by locals pejoratively as “The Dead Sea,”
probably because it had been years since it last held water.
17
The site was so infamous that
in 1885 when Mayor Workman announced plans to create a park at the site he was ridiculed
as recalled in a 1903 article.
18
When developed, Westlake Park became one of Los Angeles’
extensive and growing series of parks created from former basins: Eastlake, Hollenbeck
Park, Echo Park, Reseda Park, Hansen Park and Sepulveda “Dam”.
19

There is conflicting information as to how the city came into possession of the lands which
became Westlake. Some secondary sources state Los Angeles swapped the land with the
family of the Second World War General, Patton.
20
The 1922 obituary for Judge Stephen C.
Hubbell claims the Judge donated part of the Westlake site.
21

The land which became Westlake was platted and broken into tracts by the 1850s.
22
The lot
which became Westlake was Block 25 (Fractional Lot #1.)
23
In no historic maps are any
owners indicated for this lot. In 1884, Judge Hubbell had a lot to the south of the unowned
Westlake lot: Block 25, Fractional Lot #8.
24
The Judge also had several lots nearby. Since
both Fractional lots 1 and 8 must have been consolidated
25
to create Westlake, it is likely
that the Judge was indeed a land grantor. Hubbell was a member of the Parks Commission
and also played the leading role in Westlake fund raising.

The Patton family did not have anything to do with Westlake unless they facilitated the
transfer or sale of Judge Hubbell’s lot. The senior Patton was a partner in a law office which
had many years experience with Los Angeles area real estate. The principal of Patton’s firm
had made and lost a fortune in land speculation by this time.
26

11
In 1903, one resident of “the Dead Sea” area noted that because the title to this land in 1886
was:
…vested in the city as part of the old pueblo lands, there was nothing to do but let
the city take care of it. Among the men who owned adjoining property was Major
John T. Jones, one of the present Park Commissioners. Speaking of the making of
Westlake Park, Maj. Jones said, ‘The property belonged to the city, and it looked a
hopeless task to redeem into anything worthy of the name of a park.’
27

After the drought of the last two years of the Civil War, Los Angeles found municipal coffers
depleted. In combination with the account above, the historic map information showing no
ownership for the Westlake lot makes the oft-quoted story of the city’s inability to sell
Fractional Lot #1 at public auction for 25 cents an acre in 1865 logical.
28
Under this scenario
the city tried to sell the Westlake lot to raise needed funds. When unable to find any takers
the issue for the city became what to do with a public eyesore. This is the genesis of
Westlake Park.
29

Illustration 1.4, 1880s. Mayor William Workman.
(Courtesy Lincoln Heights Bulletin-News)

Mayor William Workman, who appears to be the primary figure behind this genesis, was the
scion of one of Los Angeles’ original Anglo-American settlement families. His uncle had
been a successful downtown banker, and Workman himself was to serve in various city
capacities for nearly thirty years.
30
Workman announced a subscription campaign to fund a
public park at the Westlake site with donations of $5 at the end of 1885 or early 1886.
31

Funds raised by Workman’s subscription drive would be matched by the city and the park
12
would be built accordingly. Secondary accounts of the park state the Mayor raised $500 to
buy or build the park in 1885.
32
Unless the $500 went to Judge Hubbell as payment for his
land, the monies raised were to construct a park at the site. In calling for a new park,
perhaps Mayor Workman was motivated in part by public altruism, although by 1876
Workman had acquired a number of lots near the future site of Westlake.
33
New York’s
Central Park had increased greatly the value of nearby properties; so it is possible that by
1885 both some city leaders and Workman understood the potential value creating a park
might realize. On 13 April 1886, City Ordinance 220 declared that the land which was to
become Westlake was to be kept as “a public park and reservoir” in perpetuity.
34

In response to Workman’s plan, The Daily Herald lampooned that public money would be
spent on a “sinkhole.”
35
In light of such skepticism the political efforts of Commission
members Judge Hubbell and Dr. Edward A. Bryant were invaluable in securing the support
of the Parks Commission and funding from private donors. Dr. Bryant was Workman’s
personal physician, the pathologist for Los Angeles and also served on the city’s Health
Board.
36
It is also likely Dr. Bryant was a financial contributor to Westlake, although this is
unclear. By 1888 $1,000 had been pledged by private backers. Therefore the initial budget
for Westlake was $2,000. The park went considerably over budget, with expenditures by
1889 of more than $5,000.
37
Funding shortfalls were paid by two levies of $10.00 each on
local landholders in 1888-9 and occasional grants from the city.
38
None of these measures
were popular with residents. After many local landholders balked at the second levy, the city
made no attempt to enact a third fee. The erratic collection of the second levy delayed
construction of the pipe system to fill the lake.

Construction proceeded during 1888-1890. While the Parks Movement emphasized stylized
landscapes, it is most accurate to describe MacArthur Park during the early years as an
artificial reservoir surrounded by ad-hoc landscaping. Indeed the first priority of the Parks
13
Commission was to establish a permanent reservoir. Park construction was broken into two
phases accordingly. The twin issues of water supply and limited funds were the factors that
stretched primary park construction to nearly three years.

The first and most expensive phase had been foreseen as improving the size and volume of
the lake basin and providing an adequate supply of water. To first make a lake basin, Sixth
Street bulkhead improvements were built to dam the northern end of the reservoir. The alkali
mounds were removed and a layer of hard adobe was installed for a lake bed. Work was
performed by teams from Bachman, Chase & Co. as funds were available under Dr. Bryant’s
daily supervision.
39
While progress was steady, what had not been anticipated was that
water flow from the pipe system installed from the Zanja Madre would prove inadequate for
the year-round lake effect sought by the city.

For the resources of late 19
th
century Los Angeles, increasing and keeping the water level
stable in Westlake’s reservoir presented a not inconsiderable engineering obstacle.
Financing a solution was the reason why the city enacted the second levy on surrounding
properties. To address the problem of water supply, an improved pipe system was designed
and overseen by Bryant. The original contract to provide additional water for the park was let
in June, 1888, to the Frick Brothers Construction company to lay 600’ of 30” flat base pipe to
carry water from the Zanja Madre.
40
Funds for the larger piping system temporarily ran dry
when local residents were reluctant to fully contribute the second levy. For this reason,
construction on the pipeline did not begin until May, 1889. Eventually it was discovered that
an additional 400’ of pipe would be required, almost double the designed length.
41
When the
water level was stabilized the reservoir dominated both geographic features and uses when
the park opened in 1890.
14

Illustration 1.5, circa 1891. One of the earliest images of the park. Note beginnings of
landscaping: trees along the park periphery (arrow points) and fountain (circled). View from
Alvarado-Seventh intersection, looking northwest.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

The second phase of primary construction was landscaping which was performed after the
creation of the reservoir. For several reasons, park landscaping and permanent structures
were to be ongoing concerns for six to eight years after the park opened. The first
photographs of Westlake (circa 1891) show the park open but sparsely landscaped. The
vegetation initially placed around Westlake was 5,000 trees donated by the State Board of
Forestry including eucalyptus.
42
Due to continuing high levels of alkali in the park’s topsoil
the donated trees were planted over several years, starting at the park borders in rows
alongside gravel sidewalks. Reputedly the first tree in Westlake was planted by Parks
Commissioner Dr. Bryant although this may be anecdotal.
15

Viaduct
1934
1932
1930
Fashionable Era
1928
1926
1924
1922
1920
1918
1916
1914
1912
1910
1908
1906
1904
1902
1900
Second
Construction
1898
1896
1894
1892
Initial Park
Construction
1890
1888
1886

Structure or Event
Fundraising
First Pipe System
Reservoir
Landscaping
Boatshed
First Recreation Hut
First Boathouse
First Bandshell
The Rockery
Electric Car Lines
Second Recreation Hut
Improved Piping
Decorative Entrances
Second Boathouse
Switching Station
Bandstand

Table 1.2, 1886-1934. Westlake Structures – Duration in Place in Park.
(Source: Author)

16
Shrubs and brushes, likely local transplants, were also planted at various park locations.
This was done to cover turned-over sections of the park due to reservoir and bulkhead-
related excavations, but especially, to fill out empty sections of the park. These shrubs and
brushes were temporary and were removed during the second phase of park construction as
the alkali topsoil was replaced. Perhaps due to its visibility, the Alvarado-Seventh corner was
landscaped with a gravel walkway and a fountain. This was also removed by 1894 to make
way for the construction of the First Boathouse.

Illustration 1.6, 1890s. Earliest detail of initial park landscaping. Note shrubs which were
probably local transplants. A row of the donated trees (arrow) can be seen in the background
marking the park’s border.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

The typography of the park during this time is more difficult to determine, in part because
there was no architectural design such as was the case with Central Park. Another factor
was the continuing difficulties with soil pH, which required extensive grading (see Chapter
Two). However certain existing aspects of the basin’s typography were emphasized. For
example, as part of the desire to create a separate sheltered enclave of the park, the
gradient from Sixth Street to the park level was increased.

17
In his book about his father’s experiences as Los Angeles Mayor, Boyle Workman describes
the role of City Gardener Louis Le Grande under Workman’s directives.
43
No mention is
made of the architect to which the design of the park is attributed by Galen Cranz’s essay in
Nodal, Albert Hardcastle,
44
in Workman or in other primary sources. Workman’s son asserts:
(Mayor William H. Workman) was a strong believer in shady green spots… for the
people. With his Park Superintendent (sic, Gardener or Commissioner of Parks),
Louis Le Grande, Father evolved the plan of filling the reservoir… Shrubbery, grass
and flowers were planted.
45

Louis Le Grande was an important figure in the early development of Los Angeles parks.
Besides his position as City Gardener, he was also elected at times concurrently to be
Commissioner of Parks for several terms. Le Grande had a long tenure with the Parks
Commission, finally resigning in 1904 over a pay dispute with the city related to a monthly
allowance for his horse. Besides Westlake, Mayor Workman and Le Grande worked together
to make Echo and Eastlake (now Lincoln) Parks.
46

Thus Westlake was the product of four personalities in city government, Mayor William
Workman, Judge Stephen Hubbell, Dr. Edward A. Bryant and Louis Le Grande. Through the
combined efforts of these figures, Westlake was completed despite public skepticism and
water level difficulties, with limited and at times erratic funding. On November 22-23, 1890,
(Thanksgiving weekend) the park opening was considered a spectacular success, featuring
a public concert and a dedication by then-mayor Henry T. Hazard.
47
The city mistakenly
celebrated the park’s Centennial in 1985.

18
Chapter One Endnotes

1. Wilson, page 29.

2. Wilson, page 17.

3. Rosenzweig et al, page 63.

4. Schaefer, Michael, “MacArthur Park’s Come Hither Look,” The Los Angeles Times, 14
November 1987.

5. Wilson, page 303.

6. Wilson, page 14.

7. Rosenzweig et al, page 339.

8. Rosenzweig, et al., page 136.

9. Rosenzweig et al, page 139.

10. Howard, F.H., “Letters to The Editor,” Los Angeles Daily Herald, 6 January 1886.

11. Rosenzweig, et al, page 23.

12. Hjelte, pages 51-2.

13. Rosenzweig et al, page 63.
19

14. Wilson, page 10.

15. “A Work Well Done,” The Los Angeles Times, 3 August 1897.

Note: The land which became Elysian Park was part of the original Spanish land grant. Los
Angeles by 1849 reserved the site for public use only. By 1886 the city utilized a public
subscription drive in combination with municipal funds to help create and maintain a park
there.

16. From the Al Nodal Collection. One of a series of photos taken showing Mayor Tom
Bradley giving a speech in the park in the mid to late 1980s. Mayor Bradley stands in front of
a banner which says “MacArthur Park – Centennial, July 25.” Copy courtesy Caryl Levy of
USC.

17. Nodal, et al, page 48.

18. Angier, Belle Sumner. “A Historical & Pictorial Glance at the Beautiful Parks of the City of
Los Angeles,” The Los Angeles Times, 17 May 1903.

19. Hjelte, p. 81.

20. Ibid:

General Patton’s father was a partner in business with… Colonel Smith. Together
they owned most of the land which now comprises the park. (Hjelte, 1977:81)

Cranz in Nodal:

General George Patton, of World War Two fame… his father, who moved the family
to Los Angeles County after the Civil War, owned most of the area that is now the
park in partnership with Colonel George Smith, another noted Civil War veteran.
(Nodal 1989:55)

21. “Judge Hubbell, USC Benefactor, Donated Part of Westlake Site,” The Los Angeles
Times, 15 December 1922. Hubbell’s ownership of lots near Westlake is confirmed in
Stephenson, 1884.

22. Hansen, “Plan de Ciudad de Los Angeles,” 1857, courtesy Glen Creason, Curator,
historic map collection, the Los Angeles Public Library Central Annex.

20
23. Stevenson, “City of Los Angeles,” 1876, courtesy Glen Creason and the LAPL.

24. Stephenson, “City Of Los Angeles,” 1884, courtesy Glen Creason and the LAPL.

25. Hancock’s Survey, October 1932, “Fractional Lot 1, Block 25”.

26. D’Este, page 17-18.

27. Angier, Belle Sumner. “A Historical & Pictorial Glance at the Beautiful Parks of the City of
Los Angeles”, The Los Angeles Times, 17 May 1903.

28. Nodal, et al, page 48. Also,

When the surrounding land was auctioned off by the city at 50 cents an acre, just
after the Civil War, nobody would have given 25 cents an acre for the ravine
property. (Workman 1936:223)

29. “A New Park for Our Mayor,” Los Angeles Daily Herald, 12 April 1886. Also, Cooper,
Charles, “Northeast Tintypes: William Workman, Founded Boyle Heights,” Lincoln Heights
Bulletin-News, approximately 1976:

(Workman) established Westlake Park in a desolate piece of land the city hadn’t
been able to get rid of.

30. Cooper, Charles, “Northeast Tintypes: William Workman, Founded Boyle Heights,”
Lincoln Heights Bulletin-News, approximately 1976.

31. Howard, F.H., “Letters to The Editor,” Los Angeles Daily Herald, 6 January 1886.

32. Nodal, et al, page 48.

33. Stevenson, “City of Los Angeles,” 1876, courtesy Glen Creason and the LAPL.

34. “City Ordinance 220,” Los Angeles Daily Herald, 13 April 1886.

21
Note: The Herald was at this time the official mechanism to inform the public of City Council
decisions.

35. “A New Park for Our Mayor,” Los Angeles Daily Herald, 12 April 1886.

36. Newmark, Harris, “Westlake and Bill Workman,” Sixty Years in Southern California,
Public Services Publications, 1955, page 349.

37. “Expenditures for Mayor’s Park”, Los Angeles Daily Herald, 13 February 1889.

38. “Westlake,” The Los Angeles Times, 12 February 1889.

39. “Westlake,” The Los Angeles Times, 22 April 1889.

40. “The Council,” The Los Angeles Times, 19 June 1888.

Note: The Zanja Madre (“Mother Ditch” or “Mother Gulch”) was the original aqueduct that
brought water to Los Angeles dating from the Pueblo de Los Angeles era. The Zanja’s water
source was the Porciuncula River (now the Los Angeles River), and the aqueduct served
Los Angeles until the first years of the 20
th
century.

41. “Westlake,” The Los Angeles Times, 22 April 1889.

42. “Parks Commissioners”, The Los Angeles Times, 6 April 1889.

43. Workman, pages 223-4.

44. Nodal, et al, page 18.

45. Workman, page 223.

46. Workman, page 220.
22

47. “Westlake Opened To Public,” Los Angeles Daily Herald, 24 November 1890, and
“Westlake, Our Grand Opening,” The Los Angeles Times, 23 November 1890.
23
Chapter Two: Completion & Fashion

Illustration 2.1, circa 1895. Park View looking east. The First Boathouse has been built
(1894), and it appears the First Bandshell is present (1895). Note marked depression of park
compared to surrounding streets.
(Courtesy Al Nodal)

I. Completion, 1890-1900

The improvements… inaugurated under the present Board of Park Commissioners,
are of sufficient breadth and boldness that, given financial aid, will give to the people
of Los Angeles one of the finest and most characteristic parks of any city in the
world.
1

With the official dedication of Westlake, the Parks Commission had reason to celebrate.
Overcoming budget battles and unexpected engineering obstacles, the city had turned a 20
year civic embarrassment into “Los Angeles’ rapidly blooming pride.”
2
Work towards
completing the park by 1894 made Westlake “the most popular open-air resort in the City.”
3

The importance of Westlake to the community in many ways reflected the explosive
expansion of a city that was growing organically towards and around the park. In 1857
Westlake was a Los Angeles hinterland with few property owners nearby. During the “Dead
Sea” years, 1850-1880, the city’s population increased nearly sevenfold. By 1884 all lots
24
surrounding Westlake had owners.
4
After the park opened in 1890, the city’s population
doubled again within ten years. Santa Monica’s population also grew by nearly 600% during
this time. In 1892, Edward Doheny found oil near Second Street, and the resulting “black
gold rush” stimulated the city’s first downtown real estate boom. This resulted in changes to
the streets around Westlake; “West Sixth” and “Ward” Streets became Orange, which in turn
eventually were renamed Wilshire.
5
Sixth Street was expanded by 1923-5, removing a
portion of the north park.

The Dead Sea

Park Creation

Construction

City 1850 1860 1870 1880 Δ 1880 1890 Δ 1890 1900 Δ
Azusa
--- 363 320 --- --- --- --- 863
Compton
--- --- 160 --- --- 636 636 ---
Long
Beach --- --- --- --- --- 564 564 2,252 399%
Los
Angeles
1,610 4,385 5,728 11,183 695% 11,183 50,395 451% 50,395 102,479 203%
Monrovia
--- --- --- --- --- 907 907 1,205 133%
Pasadena
--- --- --- 391 391 4,882 1249% 4,882 9,117 187%
Pomona
--- --- --- --- --- 3,634 3,634 5,526 152%
Redondo
Beach
--- --- --- --- --- 603 603 855 142%
Santa
Monica
--- --- --- 417 417 1,580 379% 1,580 3,057 193%
South
Pasadena
--- --- --- --- --- 623 623 1,001 161%
Whittier
--- --- --- --- --- 585 585 1,590 272%
Total 1,610 4,748 6,208 11,991 745% 11,991 64,409 537% 64,409 127,945 199%

Table 2.1, 1850-1900. General Population by City, Los Angeles County.
(Source: U.S. Bureau of Census)

Watercraft recreation was a common activity from the earliest days of the park.
6
It is almost
certain the first structure erected in Westlake was the Boatshed. The ramshackle
appearance of the Boatshed and small size (no larger than a modern day two-car garage)
indicate the building was erected to serve an immediate need.
7
The city removed the
Boatshed when funds were sufficient to complete the Boathouse. Lake boating was a pay-
for-use activity thereafter. The Boatshed was probably located on the land projection from
25
Seventh Street as this location would have been a handy spot for launching boats. This was
also out of the way of Boathouse construction and park landscaping. Another temporary
structure, the First Recreation Hut, was a rectangular open air outdoor picnic eating area
seating approximately a dozen at a plain wooden table.
8
The Recreation Hut was replaced
by the much more developed Second Recreation Hut by the mid 1890s. Eventually the need
for a large covered public eating area was addressed by the Café addition to the Second
Boathouse during the 1920s.

Illustration 2.2, approximately 1892. Boatshed. Note increased landscaping from Illustration
1.5. Eucalyptus trees on the Park View border are arrowed.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

Besides limited funding, the alkali content of the site’s soil hugely complicated early
landscaping efforts. Creating Westlake’s landscaping first required the removal of all alkali-
suffused topsoil. This process started in 1889-1890 as an extension of excavations to create
the reservoir.
9
The remaining soil was then systematically replenished over several years
with “tons and tons” of fertilizer,
10
implying that initial attempts to make the park grounds
fertile were unsuccessful. One of the first landscaped areas was located in the in the Sixth
Street-Park View area:
To the north (sic, northwest) has been built V-shaped stone walls over which it is
designed to conduct a sufficient volume of water to form a series of cascades.
11

26
“The Rockery” is the name given for this series of stepped terraces of rough-hewn
sandstone leading down from the Buggy Trail
12
to the reservoir’s edge. The Rockery
waterfall fed from a pond between the Sixth Street bulkhead and the Buggy Trail. Greenery
was primarily shrubs and other local transplants, likely because it was difficult to get larger
plants to grow properly in the soil.

Illustration 2.3, circa 1894-9. The “Rockery.” Terracing is difficult to see in exposure (circled).
Note eucalyptus trees lining the sidewalks which marked the park border on Park View
(arrows). Planting is primarily local shrubs.
(Courtesy Seaver Western History Collection)

The small Rockery waterfall during the late 1890s was greatly enlarged and a wooden
“Japanese” Footbridge was made over the expanded waterfall to create a viewing spot.
13

The terracing was substantially removed and the landscaping was enhanced to create a
sheltered lagoon effect.

27

Illustration 2.4, 1898-9. “Japanese” Footbridge. Bamboo and water lilies accentuate lagoon
appearance. Note the increased vegetation by 1900 in Illustration 2.6.
(Courtesy Seaver Western History Collection)

A counterpart bridge was built opposite the “Japanese” Footbridge on Seventh Street at the
same time, highlighting the increasing importance of leisurely strolls through the park in
addition to water recreation. With the Seventh Street footbridge, shading was created by
planting coniferous trees (pine). The Rustic Bridge also had its own lagoon.

Illustration 2.5, 1899. Rustic Footbridge, Sixth Street.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

Both the “Japanese” and Rustic Footbridges had been originally planned when the park
opened.
14
However it quickly became clear that the existing soil pH precluded the planting of
greenery-producing shelter without years of soil preparation.
15
Until the situation could be
rectified the Rockery was constructed in effect as a temporary measure.

28
During construction of the Sixth Street bulkhead in 1889, a temporary ox team trail was
made below and parallel to Sixth to facilitate earth removal without blocking traffic.
16
City
Gardener Louis Le Grande took the idea of a transverse east-west passage through the
north of the park and created a gravel Buggy Trail below Sixth. The trail may also have been
in emulation of the sheltered roads through Central Park. The improving soil condition meant
the entire trail could be lined with plantings by 1898-1900. Tropical plants completely
replaced the desert ferns transplanted from local sources for low growth vegetation seen in
the Rockery (Illustration 2.3).

Illustration 2.6, 1900. Buggy Trail, east from Sixth Street-Park View.
Pond that feeds waterfall is circled. “Japanese” Footbridge is in location of arrow.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Conservancy)

The Buggy Trail was more than a landscape feature. The trail was a park attraction, and as
such shows the evolution of Westlake from a hinterlands reservoir to a place for the pursuit
of sundry leisure activities by the urban elite. The former Buggy Trail was expanded and
developed by the 1910s to become “Palm Drive,” a grand road with paved curbs and rows of
regularly placed, mature palm trees. These are the same palms seen in Illustration 2.6, but
now fully grown.

29

Illustration 2.7, circa 1910s. “Palm Drive” running west-east. Alvarado is in the background.
Compare with Buggy Trail in Illustration 2.6.
(Los Angeles and Vicinity, Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

Indeed, the success of Westlake is directly attributable to the recognition by Le Grande that
the park could be much more than a simple lake. Rather than placing entrances at each
street corner, Le Grande located primary park entrances at diagonals. One primary entrance
was on Sixth-Park View; the other, at Alvarado-Seventh (see Illustration 2.8). Thus the park
could be traversed on foot only diagonally. Le Grande provided pedestrian traffic with two
choices, via an outer or inner ring (see Illustration 2.8). If one wished to enjoy the newly
made green spaces, then one walked along the tree shaded paths of the outer ring.
Alternatively, if one went to the park for water recreation, the palm-traced inner ring
surrounding the lake could be selected. With Le Grande’s programmatic approach the
reservoir accentuated, rather than overwhelmed, the park experience. Public figures may
have caused Westlake to be made, but Le Grande’s comprehension of human scale created
a park.

30
Below is a key to features on Illustration 2.8. Note that these are not to scale.

Feature (1900-1910) Denoted On Map By
1) Structures:
1a. Boathouse (all) Yellow box
1b. Boatshed Purple box
1c. Recreation Hut (all) Yellow circle
1d. First Bandshell Red oval
2) Special Features
2a. The Rockery/”Japanese” Footbridge Black oval
2b. Rustic Footbridge Orange oval
3) “The Three Knolls” Blue circles
4) Circulation System:
4a. Primary entrances Red arrows
4b. Secondary entrances Blue arrows
4c. Inner ring pathways Blue dashed line
4d. Outer ring pathways Red dashed line
4e. Outer ring nodes Red dots
4f. Inner/Outer ring nodes Green circles
4g. Buggy Trail/”Palm Drive” Parallel orange dotted lines

Table 2.2, 1900-1910. Key to Illustration 2.8.
(Source: Author)

31

Illustration 2.8, circa 1900s. Le Grande layout.
(Courtesy Historic Map Works.com)

32

Illustration 2.9, circa 1910s. Outer ring. Note older growth trees (such as oak) in foreground,
an outer ring characteristic. This is possibly the only picture of the northeast area of the park
during this time.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Conservancy)

By the 1900s, the park had been completely transformed. While the north and west sections
of the park featured tree lined walkways, the east and south sides of the park provided lake
views. The use of different plant types for each ring differentiated the two-tiered circulation
mechanism. Older growth trees were typical of outer ring, while tropical ferns and palms, the
inner ring.

Illustration 2.10, circa 1900s. Looking north from Alvarado-Seventh. Inner ring (blue arrow) in
middle ground with palms (red arrow).
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

33
The bi-level circulation pattern devised by Le Grande continued with modification until the
Wilshire Viaduct. The expansion of Sixth by 1926 eliminated Palm Drive, which can be seen
on the left-hand side of Illustration 2.11, below.

Illustration 2.11, late 1920s-early 1930s. Park aerial view; north is on left. Sixth Street has
been broadened into the park (former “Palm Drive” is orange dashed line). The Le Grande
circulation pattern has been largely retained with outer (red dashes) and inner rings (blue
dots), and two primary entrances (arrows). New secondary entrances are light blue arrows.
(Copyright Roderick, et al.)

While temporary park structures were the result of funding constraints, the erection of
permanent buildings in the park illustrates the acceptance of Westlake as a city resource.
Built in 1894 the original Boathouse was the first permanent park structure.
17
Funding issues
and squabbles amongst the Parks Commissioners over contractor selection delayed
construction, although foundations were laid in 1890. Once the Boathouse was finished the
temporary park structures were removed.
34

Illustration 2.12, approximately 1894. First Boathouse. Structure on left is unknown; it may
have served as a meeting place or café.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

As with other Westlake structures dating from the period, the First Boathouse was a
delightful place. The Boathouse was a three-level clinkerboard wooden frame building,
topped by an open-air pergola and balcony area.
18
The First Boathouse might have been
perhaps 1,400 square feet. The Boathouse appeared to “float” on the lake as the bottom
level was surrounded on three sides by the reservoir with docking facilities. The design was
a modified version of the then popular Queen Anne style. The Boathouse featured
exaggerated roof overhangs rising to sharply peaked roofs with contrasting trim work to
create a somewhat gaudy, but inviting, effect. This Boathouse was to last to the 1920s when
replaced by the substantially larger Second Boathouse.

35

Illustration 2.13, approximately 1898. First Bandshell.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Conservancy)

In August 1895 work began on a permanent Bandstand after two years’ discussion by the
Parks Commission.
19
The first Bandshell faced north in the area behind the First Boathouse
at a 90˚ orientation to Alvarado.
20
The Bandshell was in most respects grander than the later
1957 Bandshell. The back of the Bandshell rose well over two stories and featured neo-
Baroque detailing with contrasting wood trim that complimented the First Boathouse
completed shortly before. The front of the Bandshell had a stage area of sufficient size for a
modest orchestra company.
21
Seating for the Bandshell was approximately ten aisles deep
by perhaps 20 benches wide, although there was room for greatly expanded seating as
needed. When the first Bandshell was completed, it was not unusual to have as many as
10,000 attend public concerts in the park.

By the late 1890s, the area surrounding the park was known generically as “Westlake.” In
1897 Westlake was designated the terminus of two electric railcar lines which was to
encourage even more park attendance.
22
The growing cities outside of Los Angeles would
now have convenient access to the park. The city selected the Los Angeles Inter-Urban
Railway Company to run the Westlake line through a competitive bidding process.
23
The
36
Redline, run by a competitor of Inter-Urban, did not stop at or near the park. Ironically the
modern day Redline, now a subway rather than an electric street car service, brought about
many updates to the park after much controversy and expense during the mid-1990s as
discussed in Chapter Four.

Illustration 2.14, circa 1900s. Second Recreation Hut. Note inner ring palm trees.
(Courtesy Seaver Western History Collection)

The Second Recreation Hut was built to the northwest of the Boathouse during the late
1890s-1900s. The purpose of the Second Recreation Hut was an afternoon’s rest and
private conversation, as the foundation elevated the structure several feet from the ground,
separating the Hut from the surrounding landscaping. The roof of the second Recreational
Hut featured at least two different styles of overlaid boards cut with stylized floral designs.
The floral motif was echoed in the radial design of the handrails that surround and further
privatize the enclosed space of the Hut.
24

While the 1886 Ordinance which established the park specifically reserved the space only
for public use, even before the reservoir was filled the city received solicitations for
37
commercial franchises within the park. In 1899 the first private concessionaire opened, a
Camera Obscura. This was a franchise owned by Santa Monica Mayor Robert F. Jones. The
Camera Obscura consisted of a “circular building 30 feet high and 20 feet deep with a
circular terrace.”
25
The Camera Obscura was moved within Westlake once and was returned
to Santa Monica in 1902. In this city, Westlake’s former Camera Obscura became the
forerunner of the one located at today’s Pacific Palisades Park Senior Recreation Center. It
is probable one other Camera Obscura was installed in Westlake in the 1910s.

During this time the Westlake community experienced its first crisis. Oil had been discovered
near the southern end of the park on Seventh Street and also to the north of Park View. Oil
speculators tried several times to have City Council approve the installation of oil derricks
near the park. One speculator even went so far as to challenge for the legal right to do so.
The resulting uproar especially among the Westlake community convinced City Council to
set limits on the proximity of derricks to the park in 1899.
26
By 1906, a large cluster of
derricks had been erected along Ocean View which by the edict could be placed no closer.
27

This was not the last time the city would face the problem of nearby commerce versus the
preservation of the park’s illusion of sanctity, but it was the last time the city would rule in
favor of the park.

Illustration 2.15, 1907. Low water level.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)
38

Via Dr. Bryant’s piping system, fish (mainly carp) were introduced into the reservoir and the
park became a popular place for recreational fishing.
28
Migratory birds, such as ducks and
geese also began to frequent the park. Continuing to today, the park has maintained a
contingent of waterfowl, and at times has served as a bird refuge. Despite the work of Dr.
Bryant, enduring problems with the reservoir’s water level were partly addressed in 1901.
Modifications were made to the pipe system for greater capacity, including a powered pump,
although no provision was made for circulation within the reservoir and stagnant water was
periodically an issue. With updates, this system was to be in use until the revisions of the
1973 DMJM renovation. Rather than simply taking water from the Zanja Madre, water was
(and still is) obtained directly from the Department of Water & Power.
29
Even with additional
capacity the system could be strained, particularly during droughts. At times Westlake’s
water level dropped precipitously, as seen in Illustration 2.15.

II: Fashionable Era, 1904-1929

The period from the early 1900s to the end of the 1920s was the height of Westlake’s
popularity, especially as a locale for the city’s urban sophisticates. Parades, concerts and
public gatherings were held in the park with wide attendance. Much like today’s Rose Bowl
celebrations, the city picked Westlake to host the annual “Fiesta de Los Angeles” gala,
complete with a “Fiesta Queen” beauty pageant.
30
Westlake’s success was part of a trend
for public space in many major American urban centers:
Streetcars, parks, museums… department stores, and later on, the movie theaters
constituted the “new mass culture” that drew on available technologies to create a
set of new sensations and experiences that satisfied the changing cultural appetites
of an expanding urban public.
31

Continuing from the park completion years the population of the city of Los Angeles boomed.
During the Fashionable Era Los Angeles’ population increased nearly six times (see Table
39
2.3). Unlike the earlier years, growth was not confined primarily to Los Angeles; Western
communities along the new Wilshire were rapidly expanding also. Santa Monica grew by
almost five times. Starting in the 1920s, Beverly Hills began to replace Hollywood as Los
Angeles’ “most prestigious” neighborhood.
32
Illustration 2.16 shows while most of Los
Angeles’ population still clustered about the urban center, by 1925 outlying communities to
the west were increasingly populated.

Illustration 2.16, 1925. Los Angeles metro population density.
(Palos Verdes Bulletin, Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

Starting in the 1910s, a number of high-end developments were undertaken in the Westlake
area, a sign of the park’s new status as a fashionable community. In 1913 the Regent
Apartments opened on 2401 West Sixth (the predecessor to Wilshire Boulevard) with 96
rooms in five stories.
33
According to The Los Angeles Times, the Bryson Apartments,
completed in 1913 on the corner of Wilshire and Rampart, would be
One of the finest buildings devoted exclusively to apartment house purposes ever
projected west of New York City.
34

Each apartment room in the Bryson featured mahogany woodwork with built-in cedar chests,
tile bathrooms and kitchens, and serving arrangements for six. The top floor was a loggia of
40
glass that offered impressive views of the park and the western city. The Bryson was fully
occupied within two days of opening. The sale of the property in 1913 was the largest real
estate transaction in Los Angeles for that year.
35

Illustration 2.17, 1913. Bryson apartments.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

The unprecedented success of the Bryson paved the way for other high-end developments
which quickly followed to capitalize on the now proven value of Westlake property. The
Leighton, at 2127 West Sixth, was opened before 1917. The Asbury Hotel Apartments, with
94 units and special provisions for car parking was finished in 1925 at the northwest corner
of West Sixth opposite the Elks Building. The Arcady Hotel Apartments by Walker and Eisen
opened in 1927 near the same corner with 12 stories and 395 guest rooms. The neon signs
erected on the roofs of several of the hotels in the Westlake area at this time were among
the first anywhere in the United States.
36

Upon his death in 1917, Harrison Gray Otis, the second publisher of the The Los Angeles
Times, donated his Westlake house to the city “for interests of art.”
37
Designed by John
Krempel in 1898 in Mission Revival style, “The Bivouac,” was a Westlake landmark until its
41
demolition in 1958. In 1920, the city granted the house to the Otis Arts Institute. Largely due
to the proximity of Otis, the Arts Center and the Chouinard Art Institute with satellite arts
galleries opened in the Westlake area. By the early 1930s, Westlake was the hub of a
vibrant and dynamic arts scene.
38

Illustration 2.18, circa 1900. “The Bivouac,” future Otis Institute.
(Author’s Collection)
42

Fashionable Era
City 1900 1910 1920 Δ
Alhambra --- 5,021 9,096 9096%
Arcadia 696 2,239
Avalon --- 586
Azusa 863 1,477 2,460 285%
Beverly Hills --- 674
Burbank --- 2,913
Claremont 1,114 1,728
Compton --- 922 1,478 1478%
Covina 1,652 1,999
Culver City --- 503
El Monte --- 1,283
El Segundo --- 1,563
Glendale 2,746 13,536
Glendora --- 2,028
Hermosa Beach 679 2,327
Huntington Park 1,299 4,513
Inglewood 1,536 3,286
La Verne 954 1,698
Long Beach 2,252 17,809 55,593 2469%
Los Angeles 102,479 319,198 576,673 563%
Manhattan Beach --- 859
Monrovia 1,205 3,576 5,480 455%
Monterey Park --- 4,108
Pasadena 9,117 30,291 45,354 497%
Pomona 5,526 10,207 13,505 244%
Redondo Beach 855 2,935 4,913 575%
San Fernando --- 3,204
San Gabriel --- 2,640
San Marino --- 584
Santa Monica 3,057 7,847 15,252 499%
Sierra Madre 1,303 2,026
South Pasadena 1,001 4,649 7,652 764%
Vernon 772 1,005
Whittier 1,590 4,550 7,997 503%
Total 127,945 421,233 800,755 626%

Table 2.3, 1900-1920. Los Angeles Population Growth.
(Source: US Bureau of Census)

In 1920 the park received its first major statue. Kept tightly concealed right up until its
dedication, the Otis statue group sculpted by Paul Troubetskoy honored the late General.
The three figures depicted in the Otis stature group showed him as newspaper boy, a “friend
of freedom,” and as a soldier in the Spanish-American War.
39
With the expansion of Wilshire
43
across the park in 1934, the figures, especially the soldier, became the frequent target of
errant motorists. At least once in the 1940s the statue group had to be substantially repaired.
Finally the soldier figure was permanently removed and is now lost.

Two decorative walkway entrances were designed and built in 1923 by the Parks
Department, known hereafter as RAP, on the Alvarado- Seventh Street and Alvarado- Sixth
Street interfaces.
40
These entrances have been repaired a number of times over the years
due to car collisions. As a result, the original cast metal seating surfaces on the Alvarado-
Seventh entrance were replaced with sheet metal surfaces in 1973.
41
Seating was removed
entirely from the Sixth Street entrance most likely during this time.

Other new construction was also occurring in the Westlake area. In 1924, what became the
YMCA building was finished as the Southern California Athletic & Country Club. The
monumental Elks Club (now the Park Plaza Hotel), built from 1924-5, was one of the first
cast-concrete buildings in Los Angeles. The Elks Club was designed by the Los Angeles Art
Deco architects Curlett & Beelman with Egyptian Revival influence. The building features an
imposing arched entrance, tall plinths, a frieze of soldiers and marbled lobby with a mural of
Greek deities.
42
The Elks Club dominated the Westlake area for years until other
developments grew upwards in height around it.

44

Illustration 2.19, 1928. The Elks Club.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

Westlake also had a share of high-end theater development. The Westlake Theater,
designed by Richard M. Bates, was completed in 1925. A two-story building in Mission
Revival style, the “highly elaborate”
43
theater featured a Wurlitzer organ and mural by
Anthony Heinsbergen, the same artist who had created the Elks Club mural. The Theater
was built for the lavish sum of $600,000. Shuttered for some time, the Theater is a now a
major prospective Community Redevelopment Agency project.

While it might seem obvious that public concerts were the biggest daily park draw, the park
went without a structure dedicated to concerts for almost 23 years (1934-1957), whereas a
Boatshed or Boathouse was an integral part of the park virtually from opening day.
The continuing importance of recreational boating in the park is confirmed by the demolition
of the First Boathouse for a new Boathouse by the 1920s. This new structure evolved to be
considerably larger than the original Boathouse. Because of its expanding scale and the
demolition of surrounding structures, the Second Boathouse dominated the southeast corner
of the park.
45

Illustration 2.20, 1920s. Second Boathouse, simple porch awning (arrow).
(Courtesy Seaver Western History Collection)

The Second Boathouse was originally of a modified classical design with a grand mansion
style staircase that flowed all the way to the water-level dock. A prominent feature of the
Second Boathouse as constructed was the large canvas-shaded porch area that faced the
lake and stretched out over the reservoir. However, the open porch was quickly covered by
sloped wooden awnings with “framing” of four sets of oversized, 12’ high crossed paddles
facing the lake.
44
The covered area was to create seating for the new Café function of the
Boathouse.

Illustration 2.21, mid 1920s. Second Boathouse, elaborate awning (arrow).
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

46
In the late 1920s the porch was enclosed to accommodate the increasing importance of the
Café use of the Boathouse. This adaptation of the role for the Boathouse along with the
enclosure of the Bandstand audience area was related to the “Reform Park” emphasis of the
1920s which focused on organized, indoor activities.
45

Illustration 2.22, 1930s. Second Boathouse, note Café changes (arrow).
(Courtesy Seaver Western History Collection)

Despite Westlake’s popularity the 1920s also marked the beginning of changes in the city’s
perception of the park. In 1916, the city proposed that a Fire Department Switching Station
be built in the park grounds. Residents opposed this plan for the intrusion the Switching
Station would place upon the sanctity of the park environment. Designed in January 1924
and completed the following year over residents’ objections,
46
the Switching Station is the
oldest surviving free-standing structure in the park. The Switching Station functioned as the
nerve center for coordination of response for the Fire Department for all of the Los Angeles
metro area. Within the Station a 24 hour a day “chess game” was waged by fire marshals to
devise appropriate Department fire response(s).
47
The Switching Station performed this role
until the mid-1960s, when advances in communications technology obliged the city to move
coordination to other sites. Constructed in Mission Revival style by the Parks Department,
47
the Station is of approximately 1,600 square feet on four levels with a faux bell tower raised
an additional storey.
48
Romantic touches include ornate hand rails along the external stairs
on the west side and along the periphery of the top level. Many features are present today.

Illustration 2.23, late 1920s. Bandstand with covered seating area.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

The first Bandshell was demolished by the 1920s. The public concert function was taken
over by the Bandstand which was in place shortly thereafter. The Bandstand was
constructed in the spot formerly occupied by the Second Recreation Hut.
49
The Bandstand
was a much simpler structure than the Bandshell; however, the Bandstand evolved to have
more formal seating arrangements. The Bandstand was a four sided, one-story box sited on
the very edge of the reservoir to emphasize a pulpit effect.
50
Originally freestanding, the
Bandstand was later provided with an attached seating area for approximately 250 people
covered by a wooden framed roof. The Bandstand was removed by 1933 to make room for
the Wilshire expansion.

48

Illustration 2.24, late 1920s. Bandstand with covered seating area (circled), alternative view.
(Courtesy Seaver Western History Collection)
49
Chapter Two Endnotes

1. “Westlake,” The Rural Californian, May, 1892, page 244.

2. Roderick, et al. page 17.

3. “Westlake,” Los Angeles, Land Of Sunshine, October, 1894, page 89.

4. Stephenson, “City Of Los Angeles,” 1884, courtesy Glen Creason and the LAPL.

5. “Fire Insurance Maps of Los Angeles,” Sanborn Atlas, 1894, Volume 2, Sheets 61-4.

6. Uncredited photograph, dated 1890s, Number P2.2 424R, Seaver Center for Western
History Research, Los Angeles Natural History Museum. Copy courtesy Betty Ayeda, John
Cahoon and the Seaver Center.

7. “Early Westlake Park Boatshed,” undated, Security Pacific Collection/Los Angeles Public
Library, File Number 00010795. Copy courtesy Carolyn Cole and the LAPL.

8. Uncredited photograph, dated 1890s, Number 13-4, Seaver Center. Copy courtesy Betty
Ayeda, John Cahoon and the Seaver Center.

9. Westlake,” The Los Angeles Times, 12 February 1889.

10. “Westlake,” Los Angeles, Land Of Sunshine, October, 1894, page 90. Also “Westlake,”
The Rural Californian, May 1892, page 245.

Note: Both selections discuss the difficulties in planting on Westlake’s alkali soil. The Rural
Californian, however, also indicates that additional funding is needed; see quote 1 at
beginning of Chapter Two.

11. “Westlake,” The Rural Californian, May 1892, page 245.

50
12. Uncredited, “The Rockery,” dated 1890s, Number 13-5, Seaver Center. Copy courtesy
Betty Ayeda, John Cahoon and the Seaver Center.

13. Uncredited, approximately 1900s, Number P2.2 873R, Seaver Center. Copy courtesy
Betty Ayeda, John Cahoon and the Seaver Center.

14. “Westlake,” Los Angeles, Land Of Sunshine, October, 1894, page 91.

15. “Existing soil pH…” The poor quality of the soil at the park site was the primary reason
cited for the Daily Herald’s 1886 opposition to the creation of Westlake. See “A New Park for
Our Mayor,” Los Angeles Daily Herald, 12 April 1886, discussed in Chapter One.

16. “Westlake,” The Los Angeles Times, 12 February 1889.

17. See Illustration 2.1.

18. Maude photograph, “470. Westlake Park in Winter,” undated, Number P2.2 1894R,
Seaver Center. Copy courtesy Betty Ayeda, John Cahoon and the Seaver Center.

19. “Bids for Bandstand in Westlake Park,” The Los Angeles Times, 2 August 1895.

20. Uncredited photograph, dated 1910-5, Number 13-1, Seaver Center. Copy courtesy
Betty Ayeda, John Cahoon and the Seaver Center.

21. Historic Postcard, undated, courtesy Annie Laskey and the Los Angeles Conservancy.
Copy marked “LA Conservancy Historic Postcard LAC-1.”

22. “Railroad Notes,” The Los Angeles Times, 28 April 1897.

23. Los Angeles Travel & Hotel Bureau, “Los Angeles Railway Map,” 1906, Historic Map
Works.com at
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Sections/Maps/viewPlateUS-19789.htm

24. Uncredited photograph, dated 1910s, Number 13-40, Seaver Center. Copy courtesy
Betty Ayeda, John Cahoon and the Seaver Center.

51
Note: The Recreation Hut had at least two distinctive patterns of design overlaid on the roof,
“Type 1,” here, created a negative image effect in sunlight. “Type 2” had a marked positive
image effect.

25. Los Angeles Conservancy, “Regional Significance of the Santa Monica Camera
Obscura,” page 1, 9 October 2006. Courtesy Macello Vavala and the Los Angeles
Conservancy.

26. “Over His Veto, the Westlake Oil Invasion Ordinance Passes Council,” The Los Angeles
Times, 11 April 1899.

27. Hoen, A., “Los Angeles Oil Fields Map,” 1906, Historic Map Works.com at
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Sections/Maps/viewPlateUS-19788.htm

28. “Westlake,” Los Angeles, Land Of Sunshine, October, 1894, page 91.

29. Hjelte, page 81.

30. Roderick, et al., page 36.

31. Avila, page 16.

32. Longstreth, pages 178, 181.

33. “Overlooking Westlake Park,” The Los Angeles Times, 21 September 1913.

34. “To Follow New York Models, Structure Will Stand In Heart Of Ultra-Fashionable
District,” The Los Angeles Times, 3 March 1912.

35. Roderick, et al., page 44.

36. Roderick, et al., page 45.

52
Note: The first neon sign in the United States was placed on top of Earle Anthony’s Packard
car dealership in Beverly Hills in 1923. The neon signs in Westlake followed shortly
thereafter.

37. Roderick, et al., page 43.

38. Interviews with Meg Wemple, widow of Emmet Wemple of Wemple and Associates,
longtime residents of the Westlake area, 10 December 2006 and 17 September 2007.

39. “Soon to Unveil Otis Memorial,” The Los Angeles Times, 25 July 1920.

40. Los Angeles Recreation & Parks, “Alvarado Park Entrances,” 1923, Drawings
unnumbered, File 605. Copy courtesy Bryan Miller and RAP.

41. DMJM, “MacArthur Park Improvement Project, Park Entrance Remodeling,” 1973,
Drawing #134 (hand labeled by RAP), File 605-L-20. Copy courtesy Bryan Miller and RAP.

42. Roderick, et al., page 40.

43. “Westlake Theater,” Historic/Cultural Resources Inventory, 26 June 1982.

44. “MacArthur Park Boathouse,” Historic Postcard, written on and dated 4 February 1924,
Security Pacific Collection/Los Angeles Public Library, File Number 00010789. Copy
courtesy Carolyn Cole and the LAPL.

45. Nodal, et al, page 20.

46. “Fire Signal Work Nears Completion,” The Los Angeles Times, 18 October 1925.

47. “Fire Fighters Pinpointed on City Map: Great Continuous Chess Game Goes on in Nerve
Center,” The Los Angeles Times, 8 February 1960.

48. Los Angeles Recreation & Parks, “Fire Alarm Signal Station Building,” 28 Jan 1924,
Drawing Numbers 000065 and 000066, RAP File 605. Copy courtesy Bryan Miller and RAP.

53
49. Historic Postcard, undated, unnumbered, courtesy Betty Ayeda, John Cahoon and the
Seaver Center. Copy labeled “Bandstand with Second Style Second Boathouse Seaver-3”.

50. Uncredited photograph, dated 1929, Number 13-23, Seaver Center. Copy courtesy Betty
Ayeda, John Cahoon and the Seaver Center.

54
Chapter Three: A Different Park

Illustration 3.1. Westlake/MacArthur Park (circled) and Wilshire (red arrow). The Miracle Mile
is just out of the Illustration in the foreground. Bullock’s Wilshire is the red circle.
(Copyright Roderick, et al.)

I. Wilshire: Boon & Bane, 1923-1935

By the end of the 1920s, the Westlake neighborhood was widely regarded as some of the
most valuable real estate in city. But by the latter years of that decade, the Westlake
community was increasingly squeezed between the needs of a booming downtown and the
demands of rapidly growing western communities increasingly served by retailers along mid-
Wilshire. The Los Angeles population increased by six times during the years 1900-20, and
doubled again by 1930 (see Table 2.3). This was easily the greatest rate of increase of any
55
major city in the US at the time. By the end of the real estate boom of the 1920s, downtown
Los Angeles was one of the country’s largest urban areas. The city’s limits increased by
300% in the 1910s, and by 1930, Los Angeles was the world’s largest city by area.
1

Along with a population boom came more cars. The increasing primacy of automobile
transportation in Los Angeles was the result of several factors. In a time before air
conditioning, Los Angeles’s moderate climate encouraged year-round, top down driving. The
construction of the Los Angeles streetcar system was financed largely by public debt, so
much so that by 1914 little funds were left for expanding or building new lines.
2
In contrast
the Los Angeles public road system by the 1930s was one of the most developed in the
Southwest. Combined with a growing middle class after the First World War and a declining
adjusted cost of automobile ownership
3
autos were ever more a part of the city’s fabric.

Illustration 3.2, 1904. Downtown business center. Note narrow streets and streetcar lines
(circled) running through middle of road.
(Beautiful Los Angeles, Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

The increase in car volume brought to a head the lack of direction in managing the city’s
problems with car parking and traffic. The city’s position was simple. Car parking spaces
56
were the responsibility of the property owner or proprietor(s). On the other hand, developers
focused on constructing to extract the highest and best use for each downtown lot.
4
Given
the expense of land downtown acquisition by the 1920s, providing space for car parking was
not “maximum” use. The result of these contradictory objectives was that space for
downtown commuters was systematically reduced while traffic increased. Even once the city
and local business recognized the problem, agreeing on plans for traffic and parking were
difficult.
No matter how pressing the need, no matter how assertive the leadership seeking to
implement change, dependence upon the full cooperation of numerous parties,
many of whom put immediate self-interest above long-term goals made the outcome
problematic at best.
5

In order to find a solution, in 1922-3 the city retained Frederick Olmsted, Jr., and Harland
Bartholomew.
6
To reduce traffic congestion the consultants stressed the need to create a
“great boulevard,” Wilshire:
Great boulevards have one dominant element, they argued: on Wilshire the drama
should come from a broad pavement with clear views of architecturally striking
structures, as on Avenue des Champs-Elysees. Gardens would only get in the way.
7

(Emphasis mine.)

City and business leaders were enthusiastic at the opportunities for development that
Olmsted’s plan for the expansion and broadening of Wilshire offered. Voters overwhelmingly
supported the creation of a magnificent thoroughfare west of the park
8
which was completed
by 1927.

Mid-Wilshire developments certainly presented an attractive alternative to downtown
congestion. Designed by John and Donald Parkinson and completed in 1929 one block west
of Hoover, the Bullocks Wilshire department store became a template for the suburban
commercial development. Bullocks Wilshire was one of the first Los Angeles department
stores to incorporate accommodations for car parking. A substantial portion of the lot was
devoted to parking and patrons could even drive up to a porte cochere at the rear of the
57
building. The Wilshire location was crucial to the success of the Bullock’s model. The
relatively low cost of land on Wilshire made the extensive parking accommodations feasible,
and the distance from downtown made access by automobile straightforward.
9
Bullock’s was
an immediate success and was a signpost towards Los Angeles’ increasing suburban
orientation.

Illustration 3.3, 1929. Bullock’s Wilshire, north elevation.
(Courtesy U.S. Library of Congress)

Even before Bullocks became a model for future development on Wilshire, by 1923
developer A.W. Ross had begun to acquire lots along what was then open country along
Wilshire. Wilshire itself was a “new” street, known formerly as “West Sixth,” and later,
“Orange,” west of Westlake Park. While Ross’s purchases were initially entirely speculative,
he began to evolve the concept that an entire area along Wilshire could be developed
specifically for commercial use.
10
The developer was ridiculed at first, since no communities
were nearby and Wilshire was zoned for residential use only.
11
To circumvent zoning
58
restrictions, Ross applied for variances for each new project in the “Miracle Mile,” which in
effect gave him control over each project’s architecture.
12
Ample provision for on-site parking
was typical for new stores added to the Mile. Ross proved correct in anticipating the growth
of Los Angeles to the west. But especially, the developer understood the value that the new
suburban shoppers would place on ease of automobile access:
Besides proximity to a lucrative market, the Miracle Mile became attractive to
important business interests because of its absence of congestion, a point Ross
emphasized unceasingly.
13

Thus by an unlikely combination of private investment and city planning mid-Wilshire grew
along the lines envisioned by Olmsted, Jr., in 1923. However as commercial development
proceeded along the Boulevard, the Westlake terminus increasingly became a major
limitation to traffic, and therefore, business. To drive downtown from Wilshire, cars had to
wait in line, make a 90˚ turn at Park View, and then make another 90˚ turn to fight past the
streetcars on Sixth or Seventh Streets. As a first step to reducing traffic on these streets, in
1923 the city renamed Orange (formerly, “Ward”) street east of the park and expanded the
newly-named section of Wilshire to handle much greater traffic flow.
14
By 1926 the
handwriting was on the wall for an extension across Westlake of the new “east” Wilshire.
Political wrangling over the connection would drag on for years amid a vigorous campaign
against an extension by Westlake residents. According to long-time resident Meg Wemple,
her husband, Emmet, told her
(Emmet’s father) and a lot of people tried everything they could to keep… Wilshire
out of the park. Everyone who lived there (in Westlake) knew… it would ruin the
Park. Some old timers, people who were really old when (Emmet’s father) was alive,
they had parents who had given money to build it (the Park). There was no way at
all that they would let them ruin the Park, those residents. They (the residents)
formed a committee (sic, the Westlake Park Residents’ Association). They even
went up to Sacramento to try to stop it (the Wilshire extension).
15

In retrospect, the efforts of the Westlake Park Residents’ Association to prevent a Wilshire
connection of any kind were counterproductive. The city did initially look to the example of
Central Park and considered proposals to construct a bridge over the park, or alternatively, a
59
tunnel underneath.
16
The delay caused by the Association’s refusal to compromise led the
city to reject these proposals due to funding limitations in the aftermath of the 1929 stock
market crash. By this time, the only financially viable alternative was to construct a viaduct
directly through the park, and the Association was unable to prevent the measure passing
City Hall.
17
By 1932-3 funding for the extension was allocated in conjunction with the Works
Progress Administration. The city let several contracts for construction on the project, to be
called the Wilshire Viaduct. Ironically a public road through the center of the park was a
violation of the pastoral environment Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., had worked so
hard to avoid with their Central Park design.
18

At the eleventh hour, a petition filed by a private citizen based on the 1886 Ordinance which
established Westlake for non-commercial purposes in perpetuity
19
secured a court injunction
halting Viaduct construction for almost a year.
20
During the ensuing legal contest the city was
forced to pay the contractor a settlement for failure to proceed with the project. The legal
battle over the extension was a see-saw affair with alternating lifts and reinstatements of the
construction injunction. Finally in the spring of 1934 the California Supreme Court
permanently removed the injunction and work resumed.
21
On 7 December 1934 the Wilshire
extension officially opened. Commenting on the extension three years later, The Los
Angeles Times wrote:
This has marred considerably the beauty of the park as a whole, and certainly has
violated that sacredness of parks against main traffic highways, commercial use or
anything, in short, but recreation, rest and beauty.
22

60

Illustration 3.4, late 1930s. Wilshire Viaduct, aerial view. Echoes of original landscaping
remain in the north section of the park. An east-west transverse walkway has been added
(dotted red line). New importance of secondary entrances is seen (blue arrows).
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

The Wilshire Viaduct cut the park into two and in so doing had a major impact on the lake.
The extension removed approximately one third of the reservoir, which became two separate
lakes: a vestigial north lake, dominated on the other side of Wilshire by the much larger
south lake. The north lake proved to be ultimately unusable for recreational purposes (see
Chapter Four). Walkways through the park were changed with each side of the park treated
as a separate site. The old east-west “Palm Drive” parallel to Sixth was recalled with a new
transverse walkway. The secondary park entrances from the late 1920s (Illustration 2.11)
had new emphasis, instead of an Alvarado-Seventh/Park View-Sixth diagonal journey across
the park.

Most importantly for Westlake the struggle for primacy between public space and private
commerce had been resolved resoundingly against the park in favor of Wilshire business.
61
This change in attitude from the highest levels of city management had heralded an end to
the good years for Westlake.
23

II. MacArthur Park, 1942-1965

At the end of the First World War discussions were made to change the name of Westlake
Park to Lafayette Park. This talk died out within a few months, but during the Second World
War it was decided to change the name of the park. Westlake would be renamed for General
Douglas MacArthur. Westlake was officially renamed on June 13, 1942, in the wave of
Second World War patriotism.
24
Longtime Los Angeles columnist Jack Smith alleged in
1975:
Westlake Park was changed to MacArthur Park as the result of unrelenting pressure
on City Hall by William Randolph Hearst, whose motive was the glorification of
MacArthur as a future presidential candidate.
25

Today this version of the renaming of the park is generally accepted and is seen as part the
continuing commoditization of the park after the Wilshire Viaduct.
26
Even though the park
was renamed in 1942 it was not until 1955 that MacArthur was available to attend an official
MacArthur Park rededication.

A little-known role of Westlake/MacArthur Park during the War was the use of the Fire
Switching Station as the headquarters for Los Angeles’ civil defense program. From 1941-
1945, the Station was the nerve center of an organization which at one time managed nearly
250,000 people. From the Switching Station, a city-wide blackout was called on February
25
th
, 1942, the only time in its history that the city of Los Angeles has been entirely blacked
out.
27

62
During this time the City continued to modify the second Boathouse. The final version of the
second Boathouse in place from the mid 1950s
28
had an extra floor added and the Café area
was even more completely enclosed than before with permanent windows on both levels.

Illustration 3.5, early 1960s. Second Bandshell.
(Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library)

The current Bandshell is the second installed in MacArthur Park and was designed and built
in 1957 by architects Harold, Field & Kellogg. The Bandshell is located in the north section of
the park proximal to the corner of Sixth and Park View. The Bandshell is of conventional
half-clam shell design defined by a strong arch high over the stage.
29
Originally the
Bandshell featured seating for approximately 250 persons.
30
The stage spreads out from the
acoustic chamber and towards the seating area to create a more active interplay between
audience and players. The emphasis on interaction contrasts with the more formal
arrangement of the first Bandshell and in particular, the 1920s Bandstand.

Advocated by New York Mayor John Lindsay, the period of the mid 1960s was one of
experimentation with parks as a component of social reform, known as the Playground Era.
63
Lindsay’s Parks Department Chief, Thomas Hoving, promoted “vest-pocket parks,
playgrounds tucked into empty spaces in the city’s slums” as an outlet for urban children.
31

With bigger parks such as Central Park, Lindsay and Hoving strove to democratize use by
taking “No” out of park signage. Large parks would function as a release valve for the
protests of the Baby Boomer generation.
Throughout (Central Park’s) history, there had been conflicting visions of its role…
(Some) saw a “recreational park” of ballparks and playgrounds; (others) had an
Olmstedian vision of the park as a naturalistic refuge from city life; and Hoving had a
vision of happenings, protest, and liberalization.
32

According to Hjelte
33
by the 1960s Los Angeles had similar priorities for its parks, probably
inspired by social movements related to the Vietnam War. Increased emphasis was placed
on making playgrounds for children, while the larger established parks would be relatively
safe havens for public War protests. This management approach by 1970 resulted in a lack
of direction for MacArthur Park. As a large park serving a geriatric Westlake-area
population
34
MacArthur Park was neither situated nor suitable for playground conversion(s)
after protests ended. With no cohesive use for the park as the 1970s unfolded, the
groundwork was laid for MacArthur Park to be subsumed in the Social Brownfields period.
64
Chapter Three Endnotes

1. Longstreth, page 6.

2. Longstreth, page 12.

3. “Declining costs of automobile ownership.” Prior to the implementation of Henry Ford’s
mass production methods, autos were largely handmade by former coachbuilders. (Fisher
Body, owned by General Motors, was such a coachbuilder.) After mass production,
especially after WWI, costs (even without adjustment for inflation) declined. For example, the
Model T in 1909 was $850. By 1915, the same car was $440. Ford’s rivals were quick to
institute similar cost saving measures to make cars affordable for the new middle class after
the War. General Motors, a conglomerate foundered by William Durant in 1910, was created
to combine resources to make cars affordable to all incomes. See Farber, David, Sloan
Rules: Alfred P. Sloan and the Triumph of General Motors, 2002, University Of Chicago
Press, page 10:

“(General Motors was) a model in which highly rationalized corporate productivity
combined with relentless marketing creates a mass consumer society that, in turn,
produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people.”

4. Longstreth, page 43.

5. Longstreth, page 101.

6. Roderick, et al., page 85.

7. Roderick, et al, page 85.

8. “Favor Wilshire Plan” The Los Angeles Times, 10 October 1923.

9. Roderick, et al., page 83.

10. Longstreth, page 127.
65

11. Roderick, et al., page 124.

12. Longstreth, page 131.

13. Longstreth, page 131.

14. Roderick, et al., page 85.

15. Interviews with Meg Wemple, widow of Emmet Wemple of Wemple and Associates,
longtime residents of the Westlake area, 10 December 2006 and 17 September 2007.

16. Roderick, et al., page 87.

17. “Wilshire Park Road Decided” The Los Angeles Times, 31 March 1933; also, “Wilshire
Extension by Fill through Westlake Park,” Southwest Builder & Contractor, 7 July 1933,
pages 14-6.

18. Rosenzweig, et al, page 131.

19. Los Angeles City Ordinance 220, approved 12 April 1886. See the “Los Angeles City
Ordinance 220”, Los Angeles Daily Herald, 13 April 1886.

20. “Westlake Park Road Suit Filed; Injunction Asked For Halting Wilshire Extension
Lumberman, As Taxpayer, Says Contract Illegal Declares Ground Dedicated Under 1886
Ordinance”, The Los Angeles Times, 19 May 1933.

21. “Wilshire Blvd Park Road Extension Approved”, The Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar 1934;
also, “Wilshire Blvd. Extension Most Notable Improvement of Year,” Southwest Builder &
Contractor, 21 December 1934, pages 10-1.

22. “Our City Parks, Beautiful Westlake Park Once ‘White Elephant’”, The Los Angeles
Times, 28 Mar 1937.

66
23. Byerts, Thomas O., “Design of the Urban Park Environment as an Influence on the
Behavior and Social Interaction of the Elderly”, Master’s Thesis, University of Southern
California, 1970, page 6.

24. “City to Honor MacArthur”, The Los Angeles Times, 13 June 1942.

25. Nodal, et al., page 53; and “Park Names Never Die,” The Los Angeles Times, 20
January 1975.

26. Roderick, et al., page 50.

27. Nodal, et al., page 53.

28. Whittington, Dick, “MacArthur Park’s Lake”, 1957, Security Pacific Collection/Los
Angeles Public Library, File Number 00010890. Copy courtesy Carolyn Cole and the LAPL.

29. Harold, Field, Kellogg, “MacArthur Park Bandshell,” 12 Jan 1957, Drawing # 000103,
RAP File 605 A 10. Copy courtesy Bryan Miller and RAP.

30. Reagh, William, “MacArthur Park Bandshell Seating”, 1961, Security Pacific
Collection/Los Angeles Public Library, File Number A-004-886 4x5. Copy courtesy Carolyn
Cole and the LAPL.

31. Cannato, p. 113.

32. Cannato, page 145.

33. Hjelte, page 102.

34. Byerts, Thomas O. “Social Research As A Design Tool: MacArthur Park,” Parks &
Recreation, January 1975, page 63.
67
Chapter Four: Who’s Park?

Illustration 4.1, 2003. Vagrant.
(Author’s photograph)

I. Social Brownfields, 1965-1995

After the First World War and increasingly throughout the Second, decentralized
industrialization and manufacturing in Los Angeles, along with the growth of the Long Beach
port, gave an unstoppable inertia to independent cities away from Los Angeles’ urban
center.
1
Even after Los Angeles began to recover from the Depression by the late 1930s,
stores and residents did not return to the urban areas served by MacArthur Park.
2
Indeed,
the proven success of Wilshire even during the Crash showed that in the future Los Angeles
development increasingly would concentrate in outlying communities. The city’s perception
of this reality for Westlake was codified by the Wilshire Viaduct. Downtown Los Angeles after
the war no longer was a special place, “just another district among many.”
3
Eric Avila
emphasizes that technological change had passed by the pleasure grounds created by the
heterogeneous urban communities of the 19
th
Century.
… (Such places) all depended on the streetcar to bring a steady influx of pleasure
seekers, but that became a relic after the war. As the iron tracks of the streetcar
gave way to the concrete ribbons of freeways within the nation’s cities, Americans
parted with yet another cultural venue that had served the needs of the old
neighborhood.
4

68
The Westlake Social Brownfields era was also caused by population shifts related to so-
called “White Flight.”
5
While waves of immigrants from all over the United States arrived daily
to the Los Angeles metro area during the 1930-1950s, they came to construct free-standing
homes with sizeable yards.
6
It was the communities outside Los Angeles, not downtown,
which were ideal for this. Land was plentiful, affordable
7
and free of zoning ordinances
restricting low-density residences.
8
In the 1950s, Los Angeles suburbs grew ten times as
quickly as the central cities, in part because of migration from the urban core.
9
The G.I. Bill
exacerbated the exodus through “the patronage of a federal government which subsidized
residential and industrial decentralization through an elaborate set of policies.”
10

As part of the monumental Bunker Hill Urban Renewal Project starting in the mid-1950s, the
city displaced hundreds of homeless and vagrants to the Westlake area.
11
(Ironically this
was an early model for the “Weed and Seed” program used in MacArthur Park in 2005-6 as
discussed in the Postscript.) Demographic change in the Westlake area accelerated with the
passage of the Immigrant Act of 1965, which paved the way for increased immigration to the
denser and poorer parts of Los Angeles.
12
Westlake today remains one of densest and
poorest areas in Los Angeles County.
13
By the 1970-80s, the park area had become a
“Lower East Side” for Southern California’s Mexican, Korean and Central American
immigrants.
14
The lack of clear direction from the city for the park after the Playground Era
was the final element needed to make MacArthur Park a Social Brownfields. For too many
newcomers, the park was a haven when there was simply no other place to go. By the
1980s Westlake had come full circle from 1850. Instead of a “Dead Sea,”
Westlake/MacArthur Park functioned as a catch basin for human beings. The park
environment to the mid-1990s was described in a The Los Angeles Times article as “almost
‘Blade Runner’-like,”
15
a reference to the dystopic future world depicted in the popular
science fiction motion picture of that name.

69
The grand hotels and apartments built in Westlake during the Fashionable Era were after the
mid-1950s increasingly used as residences for seniors.
16
Built in 1956 as part of the changes
for the rededication to General MacArthur, the Senior Citizens’ Recreation Center was
located in the southwest corner at Seventh near Park View with shuffle board courts and
seating areas for playing chess and checkers. This area became notorious as “Pill Hill” as
crime problems intimidated and then ran off retirees by the 1980s. As a result the Recreation
Center was removed and replaced with a landscaped zone designed by Emmet Wemple and
Associates during 1984 as an outgrowth the public arts program initiated by the Otis
Institute.
17
Several years after the Wemple landscaping was completed, part of the space
was occupied by the addition of George Herms’ “Clocktower: Monument to the Unknown”
public art installation.

Illustration 4.2, 1980s. Third Boathouse (circled). Note landscaped island (arrow).
(Courtesy Al Nodal Collection, USC)

During the 1960s the Second Boathouse was demolished and replaced with the Third
Boathouse, a much smaller, wood paneled modernist structure of two levels with a separate
tower rising three stories. Undated drawings by the Recreation & Parks Department show
floor plans for the first and second stories and an elevation.
18
The Third Boathouse as
originally designed had slightly less than 1,000 square feet of floor space. The RAP
70
drawings predate the architectural/engineering firm DMJM renovations, because the DMJM
scope of work included renovations to the Boathouse.
19

Modifications made to the park during the Social Brownfields period were in response to
crime and vandalism issues rather than to improve the park experience per se.
20
In 1973,
DMJM was contracted by the city to design and manage a major renovation of the park. The
DMJM renovation was sweeping and affected virtually every area of the park.
21
The 1973
park renovations also resulted in the reduction of the remaining south lake volume by
approximately one fifth. This reduction was not so much the result of a conscious plan to
shrink the lake, but rather was a byproduct of the extensive concrete coping and walkways
designed by DMJM to accommodate pedestrians (and even waterfowl) along the reservoir’s
boundary.
22
Another aspect of the 1973 renovations was the installation of new benches and
a low-maintenance lighting system. The lighting system was designed to be affordable and
efficient, but cost-saving measures made park lighting troublesome and unreliable. In the
course of the DMJM updates, 112 benches dating from at least the 1933-4 Wilshire Viaduct
project were replaced with graffiti-resistant fiberglass/steel models.
23
The new benches were
moved from along park pathways to conversational groupings, which unfortunately were
later shown to foster illegal narcotics interactions. The north pond was removed as part of
the 1973 DMJM renovations.
24
Despite the many changes, the park still continued to pull at
the heart strings of many long-time Los Angeles residents. In 1975, columnist Jack Smith
mounted an attempt with friends to have the park’s name changed back to the historic
Westlake, but the measure was voted down by the Parks Commission.
25

From 1981-1995, problems with gang activity had become so acute the Los Angeles Police
Department (hereafter LAPD) experimented with repeated law enforcement programs. None
of these enforcement attempts did anything to address the causes of crime in the park
community, namely the population influx that city services were unable to manage and the
71
city itself was unable, or unwilling, to absorb. At best the LAPD enforcement efforts produced
limited, short term results. In 1982 at the insistence of local merchants fed up with high crime
and drug use, the LAPD initiated its first major enforcement campaign in the park, an 18-
hour barricade of streets in the immediate park area. But the biggest change in direction was
to come from the private sector, as the nearby Otis Arts Institute hired Cuban-American
sculptor Adolfo Nodal to run the Otis Arts Public Art Project in MacArthur Park in 1983.
26
The
Otis Public Arts project was to have a number of positive impacts on the park. In 1985,
Nodal was instrumental in convincing the city to add new park lighting and police foot
patrols.
27
The new vitality brought to the park by the Public Arts Program spurred local
business and civic leaders to start the MacArthur Park Conservancy. After Nodal left Otis for
a position with the city’s Cultural Affairs office, new public art continued to be added to the
park. The Public Arts efforts culminated in the 1988 adoption of official MacArthur Park
Design Guidelines.
28
These guidelines were shelved in the 1990s.

A variety of public art installations were placed as a result of the Otis program. “Tile
Pyramids,” by artist Judy Simonian, was designed to articulate the continual need in the park
for youth services. “Entry Arches,” by sculptor R.M. Fisher, celebrated the park’s long
association with the U.S. military. “Clock: Monument to the Unknown,” by George Herms,
conveys a sense of passing time and the changes that time brings. These installations were
intended to meld public art with a form of social planning as a response to MacArthur park
crime and public involvement issues. The public arts program was largely influential but has
come to be seen as 20 years too early.
29
Mr. Nodal is considered an authority on the park
and maintains a leading role in advocacy of MacArthur park issues. The Otis Arts Institute
moved from the MacArthur Park area in 1997. However, a number of the Otis/Nodal public
arts projects remain in the park, including the 1985 Fischer’s “Entry Gates” and Simonian’s
“Tile Pyramids”; the 1986 Hollis’ “Poetry Bench”; the 1987 Herms’ “Clocktower: A Monument
to the Unknown; and the 1988 Assetto’s “Big Candy”.
72

Just as Westlake was the terminus of two electric cars lines during the Fashionable Era, the
park is now a major station for the Redline subway. During the years 1990-3, the Redline
extension brought about the temporary closure of the southern section of the park. Originally
the Redline work on the park began as a planned extension of the Redline subway network,
but the RAP received a number of exactions from the Metropolitan Transit Authority
30
known
hereafter as MTA. These included a commitment by MTA to assume responsibility to clear
the reservoir. Additionally the Parks Department secured an agreement from the MTA to
install a new lake aeration system, vandal-resistant lighting and graffiti resistant park
benches.

From the beginning the MTA project was held up by delays and environmental concerns.
The ultimate cost for the Redline-related work in the park was well over $8 million.
31

The lake draining, originally planned to take four days, ended up taking many months of
careful negotiation with the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Over the years much
organic waste from waterfowl had accumulated at the bottom of the lake, and disposal of the
last two feet of septic water in the lake presented a major challenge. At the reservoir bottom,
shopping carts, old batteries, pistols, even a sunken paddleboat were uncovered. Once
drainage was completed, an easy to maintain asphalt-lined bottom was installed by the
MTA.
32
Another part of MTA improvements was the installation of a new fountain aeration
system. At various times the south corner of the lake (at the Alvarado-Seventh Street end)
has had an island, usually landscaped. This island was not present prior to the 1960s (and
therefore is not a part of the period of significance discussed in Chapter Five). The island is
discernable in the 1973 DMJM drawings, where it is depicted as surmounted by a bridge in
an undated drawing believed to be from the 1970s, and is shown as free standing but with
no bridge in the mid-to-late 1980s.
33

73

Illustration 4.3, 2007. Boathouse/Police Substation (circled). The Cement Building lofts,
background, are arrowed.
(Author’s photograph)

The Third Boathouse was extensively renovated in the 1973 DMJM renovations, becoming
smaller in scale than the original Boathouse. This version of the Third Boathouse was
updated still further with the 1994-5 MTA Redline improvements to currently house a police
substation.
34
Recreational boating is no longer an emphasis of the Boathouse, and with all
the modifications (including the recent addition of a police substation), it is hard to recognize
the latest iteration of the Third Boathouse as having a relationship to the original building.

II: Postscript, 1995-2007

For the first time in several decades the future of MacArthur Park holds real promise for a
return to the days of 1890-1929 when the park was a positive public space in the
community.
35
Trends for the park will probably focus on community development efforts
through organizations like The Alliance: MacArthur Park, which seeks to expel area criminals
and add new retailers in a version of the Justice Department’s “weed and seed” program.
36

An integral part of the park’s future is concessions. In 1998, community business
development efforts brought about the creation of the MacArthur Park sidewalk vending
74
district. Closely allied with Mama’s Hot Tamales Café, the program focuses on creating
viable employment opportunities for up to 50 street vendors to legally sell their goods in a
designated vending zone on sidewalks alongside the park.
37

MacArthur Park continues as a place of public art. “Why We Immigrate,” installed in 1993,
consists of a plaque and time capsule containing memories of Los Angeles’ immigrants to be
opened in 2093. “Sidewalk Terrazzo” by Alexis Smith, 2000, presents a history of Westlake
Theater with a Raymond Chandler quote. Perhaps 25 or more years from today, the public
art installations from the Al Nodal/Otis-Parsons campaign of 1985-9 might be considered
part of the park’s historic fabric.

Pathways and paving have been altered with every update to the park, including the 2001
Firehouse Switching Station modifications. In fact path maintenance has been an important
factor in every update from 1994 to today. The most recent updates to the park have been
on the north side of the park in 2000, with modifications to lighting, landscaping, drainage
and watering, and walkway paving. A soccer field was created in the open area that had
once been the north lake as part of updates in 2000. This was built after some local
controversy regarding park uses,
38
a discussion that had faint echoes of the fight against the
Wilshire extension in 1933. In 2001, the Switching Station was updated for its new role as a
community youth art center.

In 2007, the Bandshell was re-opened. Much like the nearby Westlake Theater, the current
Bandshell has a history of being closed and re-opened over the years. In fact at the
beginning of this project in 2006 the Bandshell was closed. Now renamed the Levitt Pavilion
for the Performing Arts, the Bandshell was rededicated to public fanfare in the late summer
of 2007. Under the direction of the Friends of Levitt Pavilion/MacArthur Park
39
the Bandshell
was comprehensively renovated. The backstage was remodeled with substantial
75
improvements (including new bathrooms, storage facilities, lighting, paint, flooring, windows
and an Americans with Disabilities Accessible ramp); water damage was remedied, and the
electrical system was remodeled. Additionally all benches in front of the stage were removed
(in accordance with the Mortimer Levitt Foundation's grant guidelines), and fresh sod was
installed a few days before the first concert. A state-of-the-art sound and lighting system was
engineered for the stage to work with the upgraded electrical system. The stage floor was
shortened to its original length and new paint and finishing details were crafted to enhance
the appearance of the stage. A beam to secure the structure and from which lighting
elements can be suspended was installed. After the concert season ends in 2007, further
modifications to the Bandshell are planned to fortify the support structure and enhance the
reserve for handling further enhancement of the audio and lighting system.
76

General Population
1990 2000
2006
(est.)
TOTAL POPULATION 105,620 106,711 117,884
Annual Growth Rate n/a 0.10% 1.54%
Population Density/sq mi. 33,364 33,708 37,237
Resident Population 102,961 103,532 114,406
Residents' Share of Population 97.48% 97.02% 97.05%
Population in Group Quarters 2,660 3,179 3,478
Groups' Share of Population 2.52% 2.98% 2.95%

Housing Units
1990 2000
2006
(est.)
TOTAL HOUSING UNITS 34,279 35,712 37,441
Annual Growth Rate n/a 0.41% 0.73%
Housing Density/sq mi. 10828.09 11280.67 11826.78
Single-family Housing Units 1,990 2,194 2,588
Annual Growth Rate n/a 0.98% 2.58%
Multiple-family Housing Units 31,690 33,494 34,825
Annual Growth Rate n/a 0.55% 0.60%
Non single-family Housing Units 32,289 33,518 34,852
Annual Growth Rate n/a 0.37% 0.60%

Housing Occupants (Resident
Population)
1990 2000
2006
(est.)
TOTAL RESIDENTS 102,961 103,532 114,406
Annual Growth Rate n/a 0.06% 1.55%
Housing Density 32,523 32,704 36,139
Single-family Unit Occupants 7,778 8,736 11,289
Annual Growth Rate n/a 1.17% 4.02%
Multiple-family Unit Occupants 93,710 94,754 103,028
Annual Growth Rate n/a 0.11% 1.30%
Non single-family Unit Occupants 95,183 94,797 103,117
Annual Growth Rate n/a -0.04% 1.30%

Table 4.1, 2006. Current Westlake-Rampart Population.
(Source: City of Los Angeles Housing Profile estimates,
http://cityplanning.lacity.org/DRU/Locl/LocPfl.cfm?geo=cp&loc=Wlk)

77
Adaptive reuse will almost certainly also be a component of changes to the area, with
projects like the American Cement Building Lofts, a 13 floor adaptive reuse on Wilshire near
south Park View which opened in 2000.

Illustration 4.4, 2007. American Cement Building Lofts.
(Author’s Photograph)

As downtown Los Angeles continues to see rapidly escalating real estate values, it is likely
that the property around MacArthur Park will experience a “high tide floats all boats” effect.
MacArthur Park continues as one of the most densely-populated areas in Los Angeles
40
but
with some of the oldest buildings in the Rampart area. According to a recent article in The
Atlantic Monthly about Los Angeles real estate:
In Los Angeles… increased demand generates little new supply. It’s actually
somewhat easier to build in more densely populated towns and
neighborhoods—the opposite of what you’d expect if a shortage of empty
land were the problem.
41

78
Will gentrification occur again in the park as it did during the Fashionable Era? If so, the
biggest issue will be if such gentrification represents a positive or negative force for
MacArthur Park and the Westlake community.

79
Chapter Four Endnotes

1. Longstreth, page 7; also, Avila, page 25.

2. Longstreth, page 204.

3. Longstreth, page 247.

4. Avila, page 13.

5. Nodal, et al., page 50; also, Avila, page 3. This topic is also discussed in Pulido, Laura,
“Rethinking Environmental Racism: White Privilege and Urban Development in Southern
California,” Department of Geography, University of Southern California, 2000, pages 12-34.

6. Longstreth, page 223.

7. Longstreth, page 225.

8. Longstreth, page 224.

9. Avila, page 15.

10. Avila, page 25.

11. Adler, Pat, The Bunker Hill Story, La Siesta Press, 1975, pages 29-32.

12. Park, Edward. PhD. “Koreatown on the Edge,” page 4.

13. Refer to estimated Westlake/Rampart population density given in Table 4.1.
80

14. Park, page 6.

15. “Rampart’s Redemption Rooted in Complex Forces,” The Los Angeles Times, 13 July
2006.

The park during the late 1990s had become known as a gathering place for illegal
transactions such as false identification cards known as “cartas.” See “Booming Business in
Fake IDs,” San Francisco Chronicle, 18 March 1996.

16. Byerts, Thomas, O., “Social Research as a Design Tool,” Parks & Recreation, January
1975, page 36.

17. Interviews with Meg Wemple, widow of Emmet Wemple of Wemple and Associates,
longtime residents of the Westlake area, 10 December 2006 and 17 September 2007.

18. Department of Recreation and Parks, “MacArthur Park Boathouse,” undated and
unnumbered drawings, RAP File 605 A 14. Copy courtesy Bryan Miller and RAP.

Note: The three drawings show 1) west and east elevation(s) of the MacArthur Park Third
Boathouse, and floor plans for 2) the upper and 3) lower floors, respectively.

19. DMJM, “MacArthur Park Boathouse Project,” 1973, hand numbered #155, RAP File 605.
Copy courtesy Bryan Miller and RAP.

20. Nodal, page 44-5.

21. Nodal, et al., page 24.

22. DMJM, “MacArthur Park Improvement Project,” 1973, Drawing #143 (hand numbered by
RAP), File 605-L-20. Copy courtesy Bryan Miller and RAP.

23. Interview with Ada Fernandez-Delarosa, Staff Architect, Recreation and Parks, 19
August 2006. Nodal also mentions that the DMJM renovations removed many older park
benches but does not give specifics. This topic is discussed in Chapter Five.

24. DMJM, “MacArthur Park Improvement Project,” 1973, Drawing #140 (hand numbered by
RAP), File 605-L-20. Copy courtesy Bryan Miller and Los Angeles Recreation & Parks.

81
Note: Upper part of drawing shows North Lake with “FILL SMALL LAKE” notation and an
arrow point to lake with “Fill small lake per plans & specifications.”

25. “Park Names Never Die”, The Los Angeles Times, 20 January 1975.

26. Nodal, et al., page 10.

27. Nodal, et al., page 94. Also, “Rampart’s Redemption Rooted in Complex Forces,” The
Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2006.

28. Nodal, et al, pages 109-110. Also, “Proposals for MacArthur Park Future,” The Los
Angeles Times, 3 February 1988.

29. Interview with Francy Balcomb of the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN),
31 August 2006.

Note: Ms. Balcomb was an Otis employee during the Public Arts project and worked closely
with Adolpho Nodal on the implementation of the project for several years.

30. “Lake Project Shows How Metro Rail Can Take a Soaking,” The Los Angeles Times, 28
July 1991.

31. “Macarthur Park Restored & Refilled,” The Los Angeles Times, 24 October 1993.

32. “Lake Project Shows How Metro Rail Can Take a Soaking,” The Los Angeles Times, 28
July 1991.

33. DMJM, “MacArthur Park Boathouse Project,” 1973, hand numbered #155, RAP File 605.
Copy courtesy Bryan Miller and RAP.

34. Metropolitan Transit Authority, Metro Red Line, “Boathouse,” 12 May 1994, Drawing #C-
032, RAP File 605. Copy courtesy Bryan Miller and RAP.

35. “Blighted MacArthur Park Now a Fashionable Address,” Houston Chronicle, 24 April
2005.

36. Interview with Dr. Joseph Colletti, PhD. of The Alliance: MacArthur Park, 30 August
2006.
82
37. Interview with Sandy Plascencia Romero, owner/proprietor, Mama’s Hot Tamales Café,
4 September 2007.
38. “MacArthur Park Plans Run Into Opposition,” Los Angeles Independent, 20 April 2000.
39. Interview with Elizabeth Hirsch, Vice President of Development - Mortimer Levitt
Foundation, 18 Sep 2007. The re-opening of the Bandshell is also discussed in “MacArthur
Park Bandshell Revived with Free Summer Concert Series,” MyFoxLosAngeles.com, 9
August 2007.

40. Population estimated at 37,237/sq mile, City Of Los Angeles Housing Profile; also, Park,
page 3.

41. Kostrel, Virginia. “A Tale Of Two Townhouses: Los Angeles and Dallas, TX,” The Atlantic
Monthly, October 2007.
83
Chapter Five: The Historic Significance and Character of MacArthur Park

I. Cultural Landscapes

This chapter examines the historic significance and character of MacArthur Park as a
Cultural Landscape. According to Bulletin NPS-28, Cultural Landscapes are
…complex resources that range from large rural tracts covering several thousand
acres to formal gardens of less than an acre. Natural features such as landforms,
soils and vegetation are not only part of the cultural landscape, they provide the
framework within which it evolves. In the broadest sense, a cultural landscape is a
reflection of human adaptation and use of natural resources and is often expressed
in the way land is organized and divided, patterns of settlement, land use, systems
of circulation, and the types of structures that are built. The character of a cultural
landscape is defined both by physical materials, such as roads, buildings, walls, and
vegetation, and by use reflecting cultural values and traditions.

Cultural landscape management involves identifying the type and degree of change
that can occur while maintaining the historic character of the landscape. The
identification and management of an appropriate level of change in a cultural
landscape is closely related to its significance.
1
(Emphasis mine.)

The last sentence in the quote above is emphasized because for some time there has been
a very real need for the city to produce and implement a historic resource management plan
for MacArthur Park. This oversight stems largely from a lack of understanding of the
importance of the park to the city. Thirty-five years ago MacArthur Park was designated Los
Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #100. Despite this, during the intervening time the city
organization tasked with managing MacArthur Park has not handled park modifications or
maintenance differently than it would for any other park.
2
The strategy employed by the RAP
is entirely derived from perceived need, not stewardship. As a result, by the 1980s the
Recreation and Parks Department was treating the north and south segments as essentially
separate parks. This philosophy may be seen in the almost constant updates to the
southwest corner of the park (“Pill Hill”), while the north park was reserved for recreation
activities and public events with periodic updates through 2001. This practice does not
consider the historic value of the site and exacerbates the division of the park.
84

II. Analysis of Primary Park Features

As a park whose development and uses have evolved over time, MacArthur Park still retains
the scale and “skeleton” of a late 19
th
century Park Movement park. Onto this have been
overlaid numerous recent changes; almost nothing of the park from the mid 1930s to the
early 1970s remains except for some architectural elements. The result is hybrid that shows
a strong influence from the 1960-1970s Playground Era in park design. This is particularly
the case in the north section, which the RAP treats as a separate park. In its time Westlake
was Los Angeles’ interpretation of Central Park, with dedicated green and reservoir spaces.
To a limited degree this is still the case today. Unfortunately, this park typology, along with
the park’s sheer size and community social issues, complicates site management for the
RAP. (Please see Chapter Four for a more in-depth discussion of this issue.) The good news
is that many of the important or “primary” features found in MacArthur Park today are directly
related to the period of significance.

In terms of importance to the city, the first primary feature is the park’s circulation system. Its
most prominent component, the 1934 Wilshire extension, is in 2007 largely as built by the
Work Progress Administration except for repairs when necessary (i.e., because of auto
accidents). Other elements of the circulation system from the period of significance also may
be found. The diagonally located entrances on Sixth and Park View and Alvarado and
Seventh remain the primary park ingress/egress points, as was their function from at least
the 1900s. The subsidiary entrances added during the period of significance on Seventh and
Park View and Sixth and Alvarado have survived. The two decorative park entrances
constructed by the RAP in 1923 (on Alvarado and Seventh and Sixth) are present. In the
southern park, an inner ring is still the path around the reservoir and an outer ring still takes
pedestrians to other park areas. Additionally, all these elements retain largely the same
85
spatial relationships with one another as during the period of significance. Footpaths in the
north section of the park were extensively updated in 2000, but tracings of the old paths
linger in the “Twin Palm Columns” (discussed below and in the Appendix). As a result of
updates in 1973, 1985 and 1995, there are no benches or lights in the park older than the
DMJM renovation.
3

Illustration 5.1, 2007. Alvarado/Seventh entrance looking northwest towards Park View-
Sixth. Inner (blue arrows) and outer circulation (red arrows) rings are directly accessible.
(Author’s photograph)

The second primary park features are the park playgrounds which are an important element
of the spatial relationships within the north part of the park. This is particularly the case for
the two soccer fields which now occupy the base of the north park bowl, since every other
structure within this area “focuses” on the fields. (This is the result of the north segment bowl
formerly being the northern end of the reservoir.) Located west of the Switching Station on
Sixth, the Children’s Playground was installed in the mid-1980s with updates every 10-15
years. The Children’s Playground is part of the formalized “opening up” of the area around
the Switching Station to the rest of park. During the period of significance the city took a
great deal of care to minimize the intrusion of the Station into the park by camouflaging the
Station behind extensive plantings.

86

Illustration 5.2, 2007. Soccer fields and 5a, “Twin Palm Columns” (arrowed), north park.
Typical inner ring plantings, the reservoir terminated here; note the curvature at the far end
of the row. Bowl effect is particularly noticeable.
(Author’s Photograph)

The third primary feature of MacArthur Park is its topography. The pronounced “bowl” effect
is still present in both park segments and unifies the site. The bowl originates with the park’s
previous function as a catch basin, and was accentuated by grading (by Bryant during 1886-
91, and Le Grande from 1890-1900). Much of this grading remains (please refer to the
Appendix for a listing). Several knolls are from at least the 1900s, such as Knoll 3a in the
north part of the park on Park View towards Sixth (see the map at the beginning of the
Appendix). The other survivors are on Park View south of the viaduct (3b), and in the north
part of park on Sixth Street east of Park View (3c). With the late 1920s removal of a strip of
the north park to accommodate the expansion of Sixth Street, the decline from the 1890s
Sixth Street bulkhead was almost certainly increased. This grade is extremely pronounced
as one moves west along Sixth from Alvarado towards the Switching Station. This has
created a prominent and popular-- if slippery-- knoll on Sixth. All these knolls retain the same
spatial relationships with one another and the park overall from the period of significance.
87
Another knoll lies directly adjacent to the Third Boathouse on Alvarado, but was paved over
to make a parking lot for the police substation the 1990s.

Illustration 5.3, 2007. Reservoir and south park looking west. Declines from street(s) are
arrowed.
(Author’s Photograph)

The fourth primary park feature is the reservoir which still dominates the south part of the
park. However the lake has been modified several times as a result of the viaduct and the
later 1973 and 1995 park renovations. Between these the south reservoir today represents
perhaps half the water found in the park during the years after the reservoir was completed
(1891) and the Wilshire extension opened (late 1934). This has changed somewhat the
relationship of the reservoir with other park structures, although the overall shape dating
from 1934 has been retained. Today as during the period of significance, the south segment
structures are positioned as satellites of the reservoir. The concrete lake border is largely the
product of the 1973 park renovation. This was updated in 1995 with combination
benches/planters.

88

Illustration 5.4, 2007. Pumphouse, looking towards Seventh. (Orange circle is mound
reshaped for structure.) Red arrow leads directly to Alvarado – Seventh entrance.
(Author’s Photograph)

The fifth primary features are architectural elements of the park. These may be divided into
two components: buildings and monuments/art. There are four buildings in the park
currently. Constructed during the period of significance, the Switching Station has been
incorporated into the park environment to a certain extent by the removal of trees and other
plantings. At the same time the Station has extensive fencing and window burglary bars due
to crime concerns. The building now is used as storage for lawn maintenance equipment
(first level) and as a community youth arts center (second level). The Pumphouse (located
on Seventh just west of Alvarado) was built by the MTA for the lake’s new aeration system in
1995. The Pumphouse has changed the relationship of the lake to Sixth Street, forming a
sort of wall between the street and lake. Nearby footpaths have also been updated. From the
1990s, the Third Boathouse has been modified to serve as a Police Substation with a small
covered public meeting area. The Second Bandshell has been renovated during the last
year (2006) and is now the Leavitt Amphitheater. The other architectural elements are
monuments, such as the statue of General MacArthur, and the 1980s-era public artworks,
89
which are placed throughout both park segments. New public arts installations are still added
to the park from time to time.

Illustration 5.5, 2007. The “Palm Stand.”
(Author’s Photograph)

The sixth primary park elements are plantings and vegetation. This is really more correctly
termed the ad-hoc (re)placement of trees and shrubs which may be found throughout both
park segments. There is no general design for park plantings as was the case throughout
the period of significance. Oaks, pine and palm are the most common types and have been
placed to cover “empty” areas as these occur due to usage. Some trees do show at least a
lineage to the old park. For example, the “Twin Palms Columns” in the north park are straight
out of Le Grande’s two-ring circulation system and denote the former north border of the
lake. Also, near the southwest side of the reservoir where tropical species were planted
during the period of significance, is a group of older growth palms, the “Palm Stand.” These
are discussed in the Appendix. There are some areas of park planting which are obviously
the products of a recent design, such as the landscaping on Knoll 3c (discussed in the
Appendix) and the “Five Soldiers” east of the Pumphouse on Sixth.
90

III. Period of Significance

Based upon the previous analysis, I would argue that the period of significance of MacArthur
Park is from the time the park opened in 1891 to just after the Wilshire expansion in 1935.
Below is a table listing the Westlake/MacArthur Park development periods.

Development Period Timeframe
1 Park Foundation 1886- 1890s
2 Completion 1890s- 1900s
3 Fashionable Era 1904-1929
4 Wilshire Expansion
1923- circa
1935
5 MacArthur Park
1942- circa
1965
6 Social Brownfields
Circa 1965-
1995

Table 5.1, 1886-1995. Westlake Development Periods.
(Source: Chapters One through Four)

Westlake opened in an incomplete state in terms of both design and construction, and
issues with soil pH extended tree planting and landscaping into the 1900s. However all
during this time the park was used thoroughly and enjoyed heartily by the public. By 1894
newspaper accounts were referring to Westlake as one of Los Angeles’ civic jewels.
4

Constant use was the driver for continual updates to park architecture documented in
Chapters One and Two starting in the mid 1890s through the mid 1930s. Widely popular
public events, free concerts and civic gatherings were held in the park. These events were
important not only for the growing and affluent Westlake community, but also to Los Angeles
as a city. In particular, the annual “Fiesta de Los Angeles” was a social event comparable to
today’s Pasadena Rose Bowl parade.

91
All of the factors mentioned above contributed to the growth of the surrounding Westlake
community through the late 1920s. As towns to the west of Los Angeles began to
incorporate, Westlake was positioned as the midway point between downtown and western
Los Angeles. By the 1910s, Westlake real estate values easily were some of the highest in
all Los Angeles. A number of upscale homes, high-end apartments and exclusive clubs were
built, such as the “Bivouac” (1898), the Bryson apartments (1913), and the Elks Club (1929).
After General Otis donated his home, Westlake became the locus for a dynamic bohemian
artistic community centering on the Otis and (to a lesser extent) Chouinard arts institutes.
Several satellite arts galleries were located nearby.

Any historical analysis of Westlake after 1929 requires a shift from an evaluation of the park
as a green space to understanding how the site fits within the interconnected web of urban
and western Los Angeles development in the early decades of the last century. By the late
1920s Westlake had become a vehicular impediment instead of city resource to many
Angelinos. Even with the expansion of surrounding streets, Westlake was the major blocking
point for Wilshire traffic at Park View. This prevented Wilshire from becoming the east-west
axis for Los Angeles.

The 1934 viaduct addressed the issue by “bridging” Westlake. This was the last step
necessary for Wilshire to complete its transformation into the grand thoroughfare imagined
by Olmsted, Jr. From this perspective the viaduct is comparable to the George Washington
Bridge in New York in terms of connecting an urban environment with outer communities,
albeit on a different scale in engineering terms. For this reason separating the importance of
MacArthur Park from Wilshire sells the park short. Rather, the park must be perceived as
what it is: a component of Wilshire. Today Wilshire is such an integral part of Los Angeles it
is easy to overlook that the possibility once existed that growth of the boulevard might
forever be stalled at the park’s mouth. Consider the counterfactual view. What if Wilshire had
92
not been expanded through the park? If this had not occurred, Wilshire might never have
become the Main Street of Los Angeles it is today.

The decline of Westlake/MacArthur Park has its roots in the gentrification of downtown Los
Angeles in favor of western communities starting in the 1920s. By the 1960s, MacArthur
Park was in total eclipse. If at some point during this time span city leaders, store and (not
the least) property owners had looked beyond their own immediate interests, then
compromises might have saved Westlake as an anchor for a mid-Wilshire community.
Especially with the social problems experienced by the park over the last 30 years, it’s hard
to imagine that people once came from miles around to attend park galas, or that Westlake
represented the good that could come even from the good-old-boy politics of late 19
th

century Los Angeles.

In all of these respects Westlake was important to the city. But the greatest aspect of the
park’s importance to Los Angeles is rather ironic. As the relevance of Westlake as a park
was waning, the Wilshire expansion converted the park into a vitally important component of
the Los Angeles metropolitan experience.

IV. Conclusion

While the park has undergone substantial change, it is beyond doubt a very important
element of history and culture of this city. As such MacArthur Park deserves far more
respect than it has been accorded over the last decades.

An initial step towards positive change would be the preparation of a comprehensive Historic
Site Report for the park. From this would be developed a maintenance plan based upon
MacArthur Park’s historic and cultural importance. It should be noted that this is a far more
93
involved process than the design guidelines issued in the late 1980s and the RAP’s long-
running “plug the hole” mentality. Clearly, any such initiative calls for leadership from
preservation professionals for several reasons. The first element that has been missing is
“responsibility.” For years, a cycle has existed that is a large part of the reason why nothing
to preserve the park is ever done. It starts with the city trying to foster a non-profit MacArthur
Park community organization. When that organization stumbles, the responsibility vacuum
leaves the RAP holding the reins. The RAP then maintains MacArthur Park as if it were just
another park. Since MacArthur Park is just an ordinary park, why preserve it?

The second area that must be addressed moving forward is “balance.” Any attempts at
historic preservation for the park will be academic without the proper weighting of social
issues. A good model for MacArthur Park is the corporation created to rehabilitate and
manage Bryant Park in New York recently. Much like MacArthur Park, Bryant Park was a
neglected landscape that had been run down for many years due to problems with illegal
drug transactions and vagrancy. Using a combination of public and private funding, the
Bryant Park Corporation employs full-time professionals who have considered park use and
community needs against long-term objectives for rehabilitation. This is different than Los
Angeles’ approach with Macarthur Park, whereby community landholders (who frequently
lose interest) fund a part-time, non-profit organization largely staffed by volunteers. Part of
the new way of managing Bryant Park was an evaluation by the corporation of public venues
which regularly attract people on weekends. The corporation looked at sites as diverse as
Disneyland and Central Park for ideas of ways to improve attendance and attract investors.
5

94
Chapter Five Endnotes

1. National Park Service Bulletin NPS-28, found at
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/nps28/28chap7.htm

2. Interviews with Mark Mariscal, Director, Parks Maintenance; 2 September 2006; Janice
Galvan, Senior Maintenance Coordinator, Recreation and Parks, 3 January 2007; and Jim
Hammontree, Supervisor of MacArthur Park maintenance and grounds keeping, 28
November 2006.

3. Nodal, page 90. There are some inaccuracies in the essays in the book, but interviews
with RAP staff have confirmed that there are no older benches or lighting in the park.

4. See Endnotes 2.2 and 2.3.

5. Interviews with Jerome Barth of the Bryant Park Corporation, 10 November 2006 and 23
August 2007.

95
Bibliography

1. Adler, Pat, The Bunker Hill Story. Los Angeles: La Siesta Press, 1968.

2. Avila, Eric, Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight. Los Angeles: The University of
California Press, 2003.

3. Byerts, Thomas O., “Design of the Urban Park Environment as an Influence on the
Behavior and Social Interaction of the Elderly.” Master’s Thesis, University of Southern
California, 1970.

4. Cannato, Vincent J., The Ungovernable City, John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New
York. New York: Basic Books, 2001.

5. D’Este, Carlo, Patton: a Genius for War. New York: Harper-Collins Publications, 1996.

6. Hjelte, George, Footprints in the Parks. Sacramento: Public Service Publications, 1977.

7. Longstreth, Richard, City Center to Regional Mall, Architecture, the Automobile and
Retailing in Los Angeles, 1920-1950. London: MIT Press, 1998.

8. Nodal, Adolpho, et al, How the Arts Made a Difference: The MacArthur Park Public Arts
Program. New York: Hennessey & Ingalls Publications, 1989.

9. Park, Edward. PhD. “Koreatown on the Edge, Immigrant Dreams and Realities in One of
Los Angeles’ Poorest Communities.” Los Angeles: self-published, March, 2005.

10. Pulido, Laura, “Rethinking Environmental Racism: White Privilege and Urban
Development in Southern California.” Department of Geography, University of Southern
California, 2000.

11. Roderick, Kevin, Wilshire Boulevard, Grand Concourse of Los Angeles. Los Angeles:
Angel City Press, 2005.

12. Rosenzweig, Roy, and Blackmar, Elizabeth, The Park and the People, a History of
Central Park. New York: Cornell University Press, 1992.

13. Senie, Harriet F., and Webster, Sally, Critical Issues in Public Art, Content, Context and
Controversy. New York: Icon Press, 1993.
96

14. Wilson, William H., The City Beautiful Movement. New York: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1989.

15. Workman, Boyle, The City That Grew. Los Angeles: The Southland Publishing
Company, 1936.

97
Appendix: Character Defining Features of MacArthur Park

I. Character Defining Features

Character Defining Feature(s) Denoted on map by
1) Park Reservoir Orange line
2) Decline in Grade from Streets
-Character defining declines Brown boxed arrows
3) “The Three Knolls” (3a, 3b, 3c) Blue circles
-Terracing on Knoll 3c. Purple dashed lines
4) Surviving Elements of Circulation System:
4. Wilshire Extension Parallel blue lines
4a. Primary entrances Red arrows
-Remnants of inner pathways Blue dashed arrows
-Remnants of outer pathways Red dashed arrows
4b. Secondary entrances Blue arrows
-Remnants of inner pathways Blue dashed arrows
-Remnants of outer pathways Red dashed arrows
4c. Decorative Alvarado entries Green triangles
5) Surviving Trees:
5a. “Twin Palm Columns” Parallel yellow dashed lines w/ diamond pts
5b. “Palm Stand” Yellow dashed line w/ diamond points
6) Firehouse Switching Station Purple rectangle
7) Spatial Relationships See text.

Table A.1, 2007. Key to MacArthur Park Character Defining Features.
(Source: Author)

98

Illustration A.1, 1973. Park topography with character defining features.
(Map courtesy of Los Angeles Recreation & Parks Department)

99
1) Park Reservoir

The first character defining feature is the reservoir, which has been modified several times
over the years as a result of the viaduct and then the 1973 and 1995 park renovations.
Between these, the south reservoir today represents perhaps 50-60% of the water found in
the park during the period of significance.

2) Decline in Grade from Streets

The second character defining feature is the pronounced “bowl” effect originating with the
park’s old function as a catch basin (see Illustration 1.3). This grading was accentuated by
Bryant and later Le Grande. Not all survives from the period of significance. The bowl effect
seen in Illustration 2.1 is still in both park segments. Consider the rendering below from the
standpoint of the “Field” in the middle of the image.

Illustration A.1, 2000. North park plan. The “Field” is circled.
(Courtesy of Los Angeles Recreation & Parks Department)

100
3) “The Three Knolls”

3a. In the north part of the park running on Park View towards Sixth is a character defining
knoll. This is shown in Illustrations 2.8 and 2.10.

Illustration A.2, 2007. Knoll 3a.
(Author’s Photograph)

3b. On Park View south of the viaduct is another character defining knoll in Illustration A.5
below. This is shown in Illustrations 2.8 and 2.11.

Illustration A.3, 2007. Knoll 3b.
(Author’s Photograph)

101
3c. In the north part of park on Sixth Street east of Park View is a knoll that dates from
before the period of significance; it is an outgrowth of the Sixth Street bulkhead
improvements undertaken in 1888-9. On Knoll 3c vestiges of terracing in Illustrations 2.6, 2.8
and 2.11 may be seen.

Illustration A.4, 2007. Knoll 3c. Terracing is arrowed.
(Author’s photograph)

4) Surviving Elements of Park Circulation System

4. The Wilshire viaduct is almost completely intact as it was constructed in 1934.

4a. The diagonally located entrances on Sixth-Park View and Alvarado- Seventh are still the
primary park ingress/egress points. Based on a 2000 traffic evaluation, the RAP considers
the primary park entrances to be at Alvarado-Seventh and Sixth-Park View; other entries are
subsidiary. The RAP probably doesn’t realize this indicates that Le Grande’s circulation
design still influences park management to this day. The value of the primary entrances is
demonstrated by their size and by the fact that within 20 feet of the southern entrance are
branching pathways to inner and outer ring walkways. This was the function of the
102
Seventh/Alvarado entrance Le Grande planned in the 1900s. In the southern park, the inner
ring is still the path around the reservoir; the outer ring still takes pedestrians to other park
areas. The Sixth - Park View entrance is important enough to have twin entries. One faces
Sixth; the other Park View.

4b. The Sixth/Alvarado and Seventh/Park View subsidiary entrances created during the
1920-1930s are still present, as are the footpaths at the Alvarado/Sixth subsidiary entrance.
The decline here into a flat area is character defining (Illustration 2.11).

Illustration A.5, 2007. Alvarado/Sixth entrance. Note decline into flat area.
(Author’s photograph)

The decline/grading of Park View prior to the corner of Seventh is a character defining
feature.

Illustration A.6, 2007. Park View looking southwest towards Seventh. Decline on Park View
is arrowed. Character defining knoll 3b is on extreme right.
(Author’s photograph)

103
4c. The decorative entrances to the park from the period of significance on
Alvarado/Seventh and –Sixth remain.

Illustration A.7, 2007. Decorative Entrance, Alvarado/Seventh.
(Author’s Photograph)

The decorative entrances on each end of the park at Alvarado were designed as “mirror
images.”

Illustration A.8, 2007. Decorative entrance, Alvarado/Sixth.
(Author’s Photograph)

5) Surviving Trees

5a. The “Twin Palms Columns” in the north park are straight out of Le Grande’s two-ring
circulation system. In the image below the closer trees have red arrows. The “Twin Palm
Columns” may be seen in detail surrounding a walkway in Illustration A.9.

104

Illustration A.9, 2007. 5a, Closer view of “Twin Palm Column” walkway (red arrows and
yellow line), looking east. The old inner walkway path is noted with dashed blue lines;
circulation direction, blue arrow.
(Author’s Photograph)

5b. Near the southwest side of the reservoir where tropical species would be planted during
the period of significance is a group of older growth palms, the “Palm Stand.”

6) 1924-5 Firehouse Switching Station

During the period of significance the city camouflaged the Switching Station behind dense
plantings. With more recent changes to the north section of the park since that time the
Station is now somewhat in the open, although security is clearly a concern. Several
elements of the east and west elevation are intact, such as the stairways. A cell phone base
station has been added on to the west side. On the south side, the garages have been
converted into enclosed storage areas for maintenance equipment and all windows are
heavily protected. The east tower window has also been sealed. The covered storage is now
enclosed behind stucco-surfaced walls. The RAP has added a top floor to the storage area.

105
7) Spatial Relationships

The overall basin effect shows an interrelationship between the entire park although
MacArthur Park is separated into north and south areas. The two primary entrances (4a) and
secondary entrances (4b) with remaining elements of Le Grande’s circulation system relate
to other character defining features such as significant plantings. The three knolls largely
retain the same relationships except where the viaduct walls off the two Park View knolls (3a
and 3b) from one another. The Switching Station also has relationships with the two
northwest park knolls, 3a and 3c. Most recently the Station’s connection to the Sixth Street
knoll (3c) has been altered due to the additions of a children’s playground and a cell phone
base station directly adjacent to the west elevation of the building. During the period of
significance, the city “concealed” the Switching Station, so formalized relationships with
other park structures were by plan limited. On the other hand, the Switching Station does lie
just outside the remnants of the circulation system, e.g., 5a, the “Twin Palm Columns.”

The reservoir does have a relationship with other structures (3b, 4, 4a, 4b and 5b), all
confined to the south segment of the park. With the constant construction during the period
of significance, relationships to the reservoir were transitory and significant reservoir spatial
relationships have been modified as recently as 1994-5.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Strawn, James (author)

Core Title Who' s park: an architectural history of Westlake-MacArthur Park

School School of Architecture

Degree Master of Historic Preservation

Degree Program Historic Preservation

Publication Date 02/15/2008

Defense Date 05/01/2008

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Koreatown,MacArthur Park,OAI-PMH Harvest,Westlake

Place Name California (states), housing areas: Westlake (geographic subject), Koreatown (city or populated place), Los Angeles County (counties), parks: MacArthur Park (geographic subject), USA (countries)

Language English

Advisor Breisch, Kenneth A. (committee chair), Hall, Peyton (committee member), Sandmeier, Trudi (committee member)

Creator Email jstrawn@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m1019

Unique identifier UC1436827

Identifier etd-Strawn-20080215 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-40283 (legacy record id),usctheses-m1019 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Strawn-20080215.pdf

Dmrecord 40283

Document Type Thesis

Rights Strawn, James

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu