REGION: Metro
COUNCIL DISTRICT: 1
NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE AREA: Central Area
PHONE: (213) 368-0520
FACILITY HOURS OF OPERATION:
Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 6:00 pm
Saturday - Sunday: 8:30 am - 6:00 pm
The park is divided in two by Wilshire Boulevard. The southern portion primarily consists of a lake, while the northern half includes an amphitheatre, bandshell, soccer fields, and children's playground, along with a recreation center operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. The bandshell was once home to many organizations and events, such as Jugaremos en Familia (a live event hosted by Memo Flores for the Hispanic community). MacArthur Park's bandshell has been recently renovated as the Levitt Pavilion and is once again the host of jazz, big band, salsa music, beat music, and world music concerts. Since reopening, it hosts at least 50 free concerts each summer between June and September.
The park was named for Henricus Wallace Westlake, a Canadian physician who had moved to Los Angeles around 1888, settled in the area and donated a portion of his property to the city for a park.[6][7]
In the mid-19th century the area was a swampland; by the 1890s, it was a vacation destination, surrounded by luxury hotels. In the early part of the 20th century, the Westlake neighborhood became known as th
Wilshire Boulevard formerly ended at the lake, but in 1934 a berm was built for it to cross and link up with the existing Orange Street (which ran from Alvarado to Figueroa Streets) into downtown Los Angeles. Orange Street was renamed Wilshire and extended east of Figueroa Street to Grand Avenue. This divided the lake into two halves; the northern one was subsequently drained. During the 1950s the lake featured the rental of electric boats, with the names of comic book animal characters.
Neighborhood Council Events
The public is invited to attend all meetings.
Area Boundaries and Map
View our neighborhood council boundaries for which we deal with.
