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:''For the song named for this park, see MacArthur Park (song)''

'MacArthur Park' (formerly 'Westlake Park') is a park in Los Angeles, California, named after General Douglas MacArthur and designated city of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #100. HISTORIC-CULTURAL MONUMENT (HCM) REPORT It is located in the Westlake neighborhood of the city.

Contents

Geography

History

Emergency services

Police service

May Day Mêlée with LAPD

Pop culture

Other MacArthur Parks

References

External Links

Geography

The park is divided in two by Wilshire Boulevard. The southern portion primarily consists of a lake, while the northern half includes an amphitheatre, bandshell and children's playground. The bandshell, recently renovated, was in the past and is once again host to jazz, big band, salsa, and world music concerts.
The lake is fed by natural springs (although an artificial bottom was laid during construction of the Metro Red Line which opened in 1993). In the past a fountain with a reflecting pool on the northern end also was fed by springs.
The Metro Red Line runs underneath MacArthur Park and can be accessed through the adjacent Westlake/MacArthur Park station. Metro Red Line

History

The park, originally named Westlake Park, was built in the 1880s, along with a similar park, Eastlake Park, whose lake is artificial, in East Los Angeles. The park was re-named shortly after the end of World War II; Eastlake Park was re-named Lincoln Park.
In the mid-1800s the area was a swampland; by the 1890s, it was a vacation destination, surrounded by luxury hotels. In the early part of the twentieth century, the MacArthur park area became known as the Champs-Élysées of Los Angeles.
Wilshire Boulevard formerly ended at the lake, but in 1934 a berm was built for it to cross and link up with the existing Orange Street (which ran from Figueroa to Alvarado) into downtown Los Angeles. Orange Street was renamed Wilshire and extended east of Figueroa to Grand. This divided the lake into two halves; the northern one was subsequently drained.
Despite the rather poetic homage paid to it in the 1968 song, the real MacArthur Park became known for being a violent place after 1985 when drug-dealing, shoot-outs and rumored occasional drownings became commonplace. The Westlake area also become infamous for the street sale of fake identification cards. When the lake was drained during construction of the Red Line tunnel hundreds of handguns (likely used in the commission of crimes) were found to have been disposed of in the lake bottom over the years. Before the decline of the neighborhood, the park featured the traditional paddle-boats and a large fountain in the center of the lake.
Beginning in 2002 the Los Angeles Police Department, and business and community leaders led a revitalization effort that has led to the installation of surveillance cameras, the opening of a recreation center, increased business, a new Metro station, the return of the paddle boats and the fountain, and large community festivals attracting thousands. Most recently, in 2005 the park was celebrated for having the highest reduction of crime statistics per resident in the United States.
Though crime may be down, still in 2007 most people exiting the subway station across the street are routinely offered the chance to buy fake identification. Also, available periodically, are pirated movies that are still being shown in movie theaters. That being said, one should feel safe to visit the area anytime during the day.

Emergency services

Police service

Los Angeles Police Department operates the Rampart Community Police Station at 2710 West Temple Street, 99026, serving the neighborhoods around the park [1].

May Day Mêlée with LAPD

Main articles: The Los Angeles May Day Mêlée

On May Day May 1st, 2007, an annual pro immigration May Day rally took place in MacArthur Park. The incident has been dubbed ''the May Day Mêlée''
In the evening, eight protesters began throwing rocks and bottles at officers, leading police commanders to declare the gathering an unlawful assembly and give the order to disperse. The police then cleared the park, using force against those who disobeyed the order. Sanjukta Paul, a National Lawyer's Guild observer was beaten repeatedly by an LAPD officer, including a blow to the kidneys, as she attempted to impede the police's progress. Police Terror in the Park
Those original agitators wore camoflage pants, had bandanas over their faces, all wore hoods over their heads and wore backpacks. They were threatening and acted violently.
Another police officer was seen throwing a news camera (worth $50,000) from a cameraman as well as beating news reporters attempting to access their news vans. LAPD Officers Use Force to Disperse Immigration Marchers Protestors clashed with members of the Los Angeles Police Department, suffering reportedly excessive force, with rubber bullets, property damage, tear gas canisters being used on a mostly peaceful crowd at the hands of police officers equipped in full riot gear.^[1] At a subsequent press conference,LAPD Chief William Bratton said an investigation was underway to "determine if the use of force was appropriate" and that "the vast majority of people who were [at MacArthur Park] were behaving appropriately." Bratton: Officers' Conduct May Be Inappropriate

Pop culture

★ MacArthur Park is famous for the epic song named after it, written by Jimmy Webb and first performed by Richard Harris in 1968. One of the best known covers of this is the Donna Summer disco 1978 hit. Maynard Ferguson performed a dynamic big band jazz version[2].

★ In the Simpsons episode "A Fish Called Selma," Troy McClure's agent, voiced by Jeff Goldblum, is named "MacArthur Parker." Jeff Goldblum

★ The park was the setting for Joseph Wambaugh's novel, ''The Choirboys''.

★ MacArthur Park was featured in the 1997 film, ''Volcano,'' as well as the 2005 film, ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.''

★ MacArthur Park was also featured in the 2001 Sundance film ''MacArthur Park''. MacArthur Park (2001/I)

★ In one episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Carlton Banks decides to take a trip to MacArthur Park after dark in an attempt to win a bet and prove to Will that he can "make it" in Compton, California.

★ MacArthur Park is referenced in the Michelle Shocked song "Come a Long Way": "I heard the screams of the dying dark / Through the sweet green icing of MacArthur Park."

Other MacArthur Parks

There is also a MacArthur Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, where MacArthur was born in 1880. Little Rock City Parks It is built around the former Little Rock Arsenal and contains MacArthur's birthplace, which now serves as the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History

References

1. Small turnout, big questions

External Links

★ Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks - MacArthur Park