The Changing Face of Pershing Square | HuffPost

The Changing Face of Pershing Square

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Christina Rice - Senior Librarian, Photo Collection - Los Angeles Public Library

La Plaza Abaja. St. Vincent's Park. Los Angeles Park. 6th Street Park. Central Park. These have all been names applied to the five acres of land that sit in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles and have served as a public gathering space for all walks of life during the space's 150 year history.

Pershing Square Through the Ages

1886(01 of15)

View of what was then known as 6th Street Park, looking northwest toward St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Olive Street and the State Normal School on the southwest corner of Grand and Fifth Street. The slopes of Bunker Hill are on the right. Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

Ca. 1900(02 of15)

By the turn of the century, the acreage was known as Central Park and a pavilion/bandstand was a hallmark of the area. Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1926(03 of15)

In 1910, architect John Parkinson redesigned the park which, according to the Los Angeles Times, would transform the area "from the damp jungle it is now with unattractive walks and and obstructive foliage, into a place of beauty." By the time this 1926 photo was taken, the foliage was again a dominant feature. Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1937(04 of15)

Tropical plants were added to the park in the 1930s, surrounding the large fountain which had been installed as part of the Parkinson redesign in 1910. When the this image was taken in 1937, the area had been known as Pershing Square for almost twenty years. Named in honor of General John J. Pershing, shortly after the end of World War I, this has been the name of the park for nearly a century. Herman J. Schultheis Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1940(05 of15)

Photographer Ansel Adams found Pershing Square interesting enough to turn his camera on the park while shooting the city on a Fortune Magazine assignment in 1940. Ansel Adams Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

January 1951(06 of15)

This photo, dated January 25, 1951, shows Pershing Square less that a week before the 1910 Parkinson design was obliterated to make way for an underground garage. Otto Rothschild, Los Angeles Herald Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1951(07 of15)

Pershing Square is shown during the installation of an underground parking garage. Designed by Stiles O. Clements, the garage took over a year to complete and cost a reported $5-million. Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1954(08 of15)

A view of Pershing Square after the completion of the underground parking garage with the once lush foliage replaced by planter boxes and an expansive lawn. Steve Barret, Los Angeles Herald Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1957(09 of15)

Architect Stiles O/ Clements returned to Pershing Square in 1954 to design the Nelly Roth Fountains which sat on the north and south ends of the park. Hungarian Kelly Roth financed the $30,000 for the fountains himself, to serve as a memorial to his wife who had passed away in 1940. Here, a crowd is shown observing a fashion show taking place around one of the fountains in 1957. Los Angeles Herald Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1967(10 of15)

By 1967, additional planters, benches, and walkways had joined the fountains in Pershing Square. William Reagh Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1987(11 of15)

During the 1970s, Pershing Square became more and more neglected, though received a face lift in time for the 1984 Olympic Games. Following the Olympics, local business owners and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) pooled funding to spearhead another redesign of the park. In April 1987, the New York firm SITE was selected for this design. At the time the Los Angeles Herald Examiner noted, "The 'Magic Carpet' design features an undulating concrete canopy covering Pershing Square's underground garage. SITE's Jim Wines presented this scheme as an 'iconic grid' emblematic of the pattern of Los Angeles as seen from the air." Additional funding could not be raised and the plans never came to fruition. At the time of the failed planning, LAPD Lt. Butch Barton commented, "It's narcotics. It's crime. It's just an unsavory place to be." Mike Mullen, Los Angeles Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1988(12 of15)

A 1988 view of Pershing Square, thirty four years after the Nelly Roth Memorial Fountains were installed. Chris Gulker, Los Angeles Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1993(13 of15)

Following the false start in the late 1980s, a Pershing Square redesign came to pass a few short years later. Here, the park is shown at the beginning of the reported $14-million construction in 1993. Cary Moore Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

1997(14 of15)

The 1990s redesign of Pershing Square was a collaboration between architect Ricardo Legorretta, landscape architect Laurie Olin, and artist Barbara McCarren. Public art was incorporated into the design, and alluded to aspects of the history of Los Angeles, such as orange groves, as seen in this 1997 photo. The response to the radical redesign has been mixed since it opened, and vagrancy has continued to be an issue. Anthony Friedkin/Los Angeles Neighborhoods Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

2005(15 of15)

A partial view of Pershing Square in 2005, showing its 1990s redesign whose days may be numbered. Gary Leonard Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

The City finally settled on the name Pershing Square in 1918, though the design of the park has changed numerous times, most recently in the early 1990s. The park's next iteration appears to be just around the corner through the efforts of Pershing Square Renew, a non-profit collaboration between government, community, and business leaders in the Downtown area. On Thursday, April 28th at the Palace Theater on Broadway, the group is hosting "Reimagining the Heart of Los Angeles," a public event which will unveil design proposals of four finalists.

As we await the next version of Pershing Square, here is a look back at the park through the years, via the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection.

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